Titanfall: In Ruins
by Glen Harris
Summary: An action/sci-fi thriller based upon Titanfall lore, In Ruins follows Axel, a Pilot stranded in one of Leviathan's most deadly jungles. As if supplies being limited and blood-thirsty creatures waiting around every corner weren't enough, when Axel stumbles upon a mysterious structure, the game becomes far more than mere personal survival.
1. Chapter 1: Shadow of the Jungle

**Titanfall: In Ruins**

**By Glen Harris**

Author's note: I'm a fan of Titanfall and play it quite often. I've researched into its lore though not extensively so I apologise if there are any errors, please feel free to let me know if you spot anything. Likewise, though I have checked, if there's any grammatical issues let me know as well and I'll correct it once I'm able to. I feel there's still a lot to be explored in the world of Titanfall, so I'll be taking a few liberties here and there to extend the universe given the fact there isn't a huge storyline to go on based solely off the game. Either way, I hope you enjoy it, I had fun writing it and I have plans for future chapters so all being well I'll be adding them shortly. Stay tuned!

**Chapter One: Shadow of the Jungle**

The first glimmers of sunshine woke him, just as they always did. Slowly, gently. The light-orange rays caressing his forehead, his cheek, his eyelids, pulling him slowly from peaceful dreams of times long passed. In those precious, waking moments, Axel actually felt content. There was a hazy serenity in those few fleeting seconds, a brief instant where the horrors of yesterday felt like ancient history, and the horrors yet to come were but a distant worry. However, that mental sanctuary, no matter how treasurable, was not to be indulged in for long. It may have only been a state of mind, but it was dangerous one. One that could rob the unwary of their better judgment, dull their senses. As tempting as it might be, escapism had its price, and in Leviathan's mightiest jungle, that price was certainly death.

Collecting himself quickly, Axel familiarised himself with his surroundings once again, checking for any details that might have changed overnight due to the movements of some hidden third party. He had founded an ideal spot, located high amongst the trees, just below the canopy. One hundred yards to the east lay the treeline, the edge of jungle, marked by a surprisingly-straight row of towering tree trunks, standing in line like soldiers in rank. Ahead of them lay the swamplands, a seemingly endless pit of mud, ooze and filth that sprawled out for miles and miles. To the west stood more and more jungle. Axel had only ventured into it on desperate occasions, hunting for food when resources were threateningly low. During such ventures, he soon discovered that the floral-green world he had found himself within only became more and more hostile. The trees grew larger, closer together, hiding wild beasts that Axel had never heard of, let alone seen, before.

The thick, wooden planks that Axel sat perched upon encircled the tree's trunk, jutting out and providing a sturdy radial ledge around its perimeter. As he began to adjust to the morning light, his back leaning against the bark of the tree he had now claimed, he was reminded of those who had actually created the crow's nest he now found himself in. A scouting party had arrived perhaps fifty moons ago, maybe more, and established a crude base on the edge of jungle, just outside of the treeline. It was a meagre base of operations for an extraction team, barely able to accommodate a dozen men, never mind the thirty poor souls who were stationed at it a week later. Their mission had been innocent enough, collect emulsion and any other available natural resources from the swampland and then leave. The workers had just been civilians; they had not deserved the fate that had befallen them.

Instinctively, Axel reached out his right arm, his fingers flittering across the wooden planks beneath him until eventually curling around their target. He brought the weapon into his lap, a semi-automatic Longbow-DMR sniper rifle. It was sturdy weapon, his weapon of choice in fact, equipped with a suppressor, twelve round extended magazine, stabiliser and, most importantly, a personally-customised 4.5x zoom scope. Axel began to strip the weapon expertly, examining each component with care. It was a routine he carried out each morning, his movements robotic, unhesitant. He had always prided himself in his weapon maintenance and now, in the depths of the jungle, it was more vital than ever. The rifle was his protector, his lifeline, he had to respect it. Any flaw, anything left unchecked, could result in a jam, and that could be the difference between life and death.

Satisfied that the rifle was still in a prime, working condition, Axel rose to his feet, picking his mask up as he did so. He disliked taking it off, his combat gear was there to protect him, but he found it so much easier to sleep without it, and he needed all the rest he could steal. Without another thought, he brought the mask up to his face, connecting the straps behind his head, his mouth closing around the respirator. The air in the jungle was thick, so humid that it was suffocating. The respirator was a welcome luxury. Pulling the protective, camouflaged hood up and around his head, he picked up his rifle and made his way around the side of the tree, quickly locating a steel hook. The hook was nailed deep into the tree's bark and held firmly in place by several small bolts. Tied around the hook was a rope, the end of which lay in a small spool at Axel's feet. He brought it up to the perch every night before he tried to sleep, he could not be too cautious after all.

With a swift swing of his arm, Axel threw the rope over the edge of the perch. The spool unwound rapidly as the rope fell, eventually hitting the soft, squelching ground with a light thud. Axel grabbed the rope tightly, holding it with both of his gloved hands, the rubber fingertips providing significant grip. One moment later and he was on his way down, descending in a quick and controlled manner, the air whistling by, faster and faster as he neared the ground. He could have reached the ground far quicker if he had wanted to. His pilot gear was indeed equipped with working jump kit, the thrusters of which would have allowed him to make a controlled freefall. However, with no idea of how long he would remain within the jungle and fuel supplies rapidly diminishing, Axel was adamant on using his jump kit as scarcely as possible. Seconds later, his boots connected with the sponge-like marsh beneath him and he began to make his way east.

His destination was the extraction team's resource base. He had scavenged it for supplies long ago, returning frequently to top up on fuel or shelter himself from the merciless thunderstorms that had made a habit of suddenly appearing and disappearing without a moment's notice. Most importantly, however, he returned to relay his distress call. Admittedly, it was more of a desperate cry for help, but Axel new it was better than surrendering himself to the jungle. For a few days, Axel had actually slept there. He had been new to the Leviathan jungle then, unknowing of the dangers that lurked amidst the mud and vegetation, or even within the swamp waters themselves. When a large, lizard-like creature had prowled into the base, also finding shelter from a storm, Axel quickly became aware of the hell he had unwittingly entered. Of course, living directly beneath the canopy of the trees was safer, though he still faced dangers. Winged beasts and giant insects were common inhabitants of the jungle, joined occasionally by four-legged mammals with claws so strong and so sharp that they could climb even the highest of trees. Nowhere was safe for long.

After a short, cautious walk, the resource base came into view. It stood on steel girder stilts, suspended a metre or so above the murky swamp water beneath. Large tankards surrounded the structure, connected with a variety of pipes which extended down into the waters, pumping up whatever they were able to. At least they had when the base had been in working order. Now it was a mere shadow of its former self, a dirtied ruin, claimed by the jungle. It was only a small base; its white and orange metal exterior was soon tainted by the jungle's greenery. Moss, algae and vines clung to steel framework of the structure, clinging to the walls and sprawling across the rooftop. Though if the outside was a sorry sight, the inside was something else entirely.

As Axel made his way into the structure, he found himself face to face with the familiar sight of the extraction team, or at least what remained of them. Even now, after all the visits he had made to the base, he was unable to prevent him stomach from turning at the gruesome scene before him. Amidst the slimy green filth that covered the floor lay violent streaks of red, now mouldy with age, reminders of the numerous bodies that had been dragged outside, kicking and screaming by the worst of the jungle's creatures. Not everyone had been taken away however. Some had simply been killed, left to rot whilst their colleagues were consumed in some far away treetop or nest or wherever the creatures had chosen to live. Almost a dozen bodies lay scattered about the interior, mutilated, torn open, their rotting guts spilling out of congealed gashes within the stomachs. Their heads, or at least those still them, were more skull-like now, the skin shrivelled around the bone, grey and rotting, their eyes gone, mere hollowed out shells.

Axel did his best to avoid looking at them. They brought forth too many memories. Axel had been part of the team sent to protect the civilians when there had been word of a creature threat. They had been unsuccessful; his fellow men were slaughtered along with the rest of them. As it turned out, they had been overwhelmingly unprepared. Minutes before they had arrived, the temporary Wildlife Repulsor Tower that had been established by the scouting party had malfunctioned, opening the gates for a wave of creatures of an unaccountable measure. In the panic, most forms of communication were either lost or destroyed, the dropship that had brought Axel and his men being ripped apart by a flock of flyers, four-winged dragon-like beasts of immense strength. However, one device had miraculously remained intact, a satellite radio, handheld but powerful enough to reach anyone within the System's orbit of Leviathan should there be a clean line from the surface to the stratosphere. Axel had salvaged the device from one of the dead civilians days after the attack. After some handiwork and some playing with the base's technology, Axel had managed to not only restore the radio but also increase its range, or so he hoped. Accessing a service ladder and ascending to the rooftop, Axel held the radio out before him and clicked in the talk button. After a brief pause, he spoke, loudly and clearly.

"Anyone on this frequency, please listen to me. I am stranded in the Leviathan Badlands. I am alone and have few supplies. Can anyone please help me?"

Though he tried to hide it, Axel was unable to avoid a hint of desperation in his voice. He went on to call out his geographic coordinates, then repeated his statement a second time before releasing the talk button and lowering his hand. He paused for a minute, perhaps longer, he did not keep count. The radio was nothing but silent. There was no static, nothing at all. He tried again, repeating the phrase, almost identically to before. He had said it so many times that, by this point, he might as well have rehearsed it. He had intentionally left out his name, and the side for which he had fought in the Titan Wars, that might only complicate the matter. It was a cry for help, nothing more, nothing less. If he were fortunate enough for anyone to respond and they turned out to be hostile, he would deal with them accordingly. Again there was no response from the radio. He tried several more times, the words becoming more and more emotionless with each round. The sadness and defeat that had once consumed him after each failed attempt was no longer an issue, he had already lost all hope of being granted with a reply. Part of him felt the only reason he made the daily trip to the base was to simply give himself something to do.

A faint rumble echoed throughout his stomach. Axel ignored it at first though, when it began to persist, he eventually decided to climb down from the rooftop and begin searching for food. Mere weeks ago he was gagging whilst trying to swallow a highly undercooked insect. Now, however, he relished thought, craved it in fact. Somewhat absentmindedly, he placed a hand over the grip of his knife, tucked snuggly at his side in a leather sheath. It was a reliable blade, and had earned him many a meal in the past. As he entered into the shadow of the jungle once again, he holstered his sniper rifle, slinging it over his back, and slid the knife into his hand, holding it delicately. The glanced down towards the blade. It was clean, its front edge still razor sharp, its rear edge serrated and jagged. Suddenly, he heard a faint buzz beside his head. In an instant he was upon the tiny beast, skewering the insect with the tip of the blade and pinning it against the bark of a nearby tree. With its body impaled, the small winged creature writhed uncontrollably, its legs kicking, its wings fluttering, stuck in place and squealing quietly. Axel seemed to savour the moment, the slightest hint of a smile appearing beneath his mask. He knew it to be pathetic, feeling so powerful over such an insect, but it was one of the few chances he would have at feeling anything but helpless. Axel twisted the blade and the insect fell still. Without any hesitation he brought the blade back up to his face, the creature still attached, lifted his mask and consumed it in one large bite. He had learned from more desperate times that that particular insect was safe to eat uncooked.

Whilst the tiny body of the insect crunched inside Axel's mouth, he started on his way once again. A simple insect would not be enough to satisfy his hunger for the day. It had been some time now since he had found a sufficient meal, if he wanted to keep his energy up, he needed to find something far bigger. As he made his way through the trees, he began to sweat. He could feel it trickling down his torso, down his limbs, with every step. His combat gear had been installed with technology designed to keep perspiration down, however his gear was slowly starting to falter and the shear humidity of the jungle was enough to put even the finest of combat suits to the test. His blistered feet ached as he moved, the wet, muddy ground doing little to soften his footsteps. The sun had now risen high above the treetops and was emitting a fantastic quantity of heat. Though very few rays were able to penetrate the upper canopy, those that did seemed to be carried by the moisture within the air, reflecting a pale green mist throughout the entire jungle. Twinned with the echoing roars of faraway creatures and chirping insects, Axel could not have imagined himself to be stranded in a more hellish place.

Hungry, tired and aching, he had to indulge in a quick rest, placing one hand against a tree and leaning, catching his breath. It was at that moment, as he scanned he surroundings, he spotted something in the distance. It was alive, that much he could tell. He could just make out a large torso, inflating and deflating gently whilst whatever creature it belonged to slept. Eagerness consumed Axel and he hurriedly returned his knife to its sheath, whipping his rifle around and raising it before him, looking down the sights keenly towards the slumbering creature. Through the glass optic, a skeletal orange outline of the being pulsed before Axel's eye. He had custom-fitted a radar pulse to the rifle's scope, which identified and used the heartbeat of anyone, or anything, within its sights to draw a live, x-ray image of the subject's body. The creature was one of the biggest Axel had seen since the attack on the resource base, he couldn't believe his eyes. It was just lying there, waiting for him, like some twisted gift. It seemed too perfect, though as Axel surveyed the area through the scope of his rifle, he found himself unable to identify any other nearby targets. He and the creature were alone.

Axel trained his sights back upon the beast and steadied his breathing, fearful of moving any closer should he wake it and ruin his chances. He had not fired his rifle for quite some time and, even now, he was instinctively hesitant. He had been trying to conserve ammunition whenever possible, far too much had be spent during the attack. He toyed with the idea of sneaking up on the creature, slitting its throat with his knife, but his mind was filled with too much doubt and his stomach urged him to hurry and make the kill. Axel's mind was made up. He held his breath, his finger steady on the trigger, squeezing with just enough pressure that the slightest bit more would cause the weapon to fire. The second his sights fell upon the creature's x-rayed skull he exhaled and pulling the trigger. The round flew almost silently through the air, whistling out of the suppressed barrel and meeting its target in the blink of an eye, an explosion of blood briefly replacing the creature's head. Axel lingered momentarily, holding his sights upon the creature, ensuring it was dead. Its torso had indeed stopped moving. As its heartbeat faded, so too did its orange skeletal outline Axel observed through the scope. Satisfied, he lowered his weapon and began sprinting towards his prey, hunger and anticipation swallowing the rest of his thoughts.

As he neared the body, he was able to truly appreciate the size of the beast. It was at least six feet long, a muscular and hairless creature, with a long curling tail and large bloody claws. That was when Axel noticed it. The creature's claws were not the only thing covered in the blood. In fact, the majority of its body was. Confused, and a little disturbed, Axel nudged the creature with his boot, lifting its torso just enough to see beneath it. A pool of fresh blood had soaked into the mossy ground and, now curious, Axel knelt down and, pushing hard with both hands, rolled the creature over. The move revealed a ghastly sight. The other side of the creature's body had been entirely ripped open, the skin cut to shreds by large talons, some of the gashes exposing innards and the ribcage. Something had attacked it and left it to bleed out.

Unable to see any nearby danger, Axel decided not to allow the body to go to waste. He collected two sturdy sticks from some foliage and began rubbing one against the other rapidly in an attempt to start a fire. Initially he had always been afraid of igniting any sort of flames for fear of drawing the attention of any creatures in the area. However, after several cooked meals, Axel had learnt to use the fire to his advantage. Fire made the creatures predictable, they were drawn to it, though it was very rare that it would catch the attention of more than one beast at a time. That made them controllable. In the past he had been able to start a fire, lie in wait and, as soon as a creature arrived, he would be able to sneak up on it and kill it, using the fire almost ironically to cook it straight after. Now, however, as the first small wisps of smoke began to rise from the sticks, Axel could not help but feel uncertainty about the situation he had found himself in. As the smoke began to intensify, he suddenly heard a noise, the rustling of leaves. Not from the ground, but from above, in the trees.

Axel dropped the sticks, immediately twisting round, bringing his rifle up in an instant, searching for the perpetrator. He looked towards the canopy, hurriedly switching his aim from tree to tree. It was only when he heard the low swooping sound of large wings flapping behind him that he realised he had been tricked. He swerved around as fast as he could though it was not fast enough. The flyer crashed into him, claws raised ahead of itself. Axel had just enough time to raise his rifle, holding it horizontally in defense, the flyer's claws slamming into it, curling around it. Axel was thrown off his feet, the pure might of the winged beast easily overpowering him. He hit the ground hard, damp soil splashing up around him upon impact. The flyer was on top of him, its two clawed feet still curled around Axel's rifle, which was now pressed against his chest as he tried, and failed to wrestle with the beast. It wailed loudly and Axel feared it would draw the attention of other creatures nearby. He watched, terrified, as the flyer's elongated neck curled back, signalling that it was about to lash out. Axel prepared himself, quickly moving his head to one side and narrowly dodging its pointed jaws which instead connecting with the dirt.

It was in that moment that Axel spotted the bullet hole in one of the flyer's wings. It was a small clean wound, but Axel recognised it. He had encountered this particular flyer before, about a five moons ago. He hard narrowly missed its head and it had flown away into the wilderness, escaping. Yet now it had returned. In the fleeting seconds Axel had whilst the flyer recovered from its failed attack, he realised that the flyer had set a trap for him. It had attacked the animal he had found, waited for him in the treetops. Axel had had no idea the flyers were capable of such intelligence, he could not believe it was possible. As the flyer prepared to strike again, Axel released one hand from his rifle and fumbled for his knife. His shaking hand struggled to find the grip and his hesitance almost cost him his life, the beast striking down again, snapping at his face, tearing off a large strip of his hood.

Finally, Axel's fingers closed around the knife's handle and he swiftly unsheathed it. The flyer withdrew slightly, preventing Axel from reaching its head or neck. Instead he decided to cut at its ankle, swiping quickly and so suddenly that it severed the flyer's clawed foot from its leg. The flyer recoiled, screeching in pain, yelling up into the air. It flapped its wings wildly and began to hover above Axel, snatching his rifle from him and holding it in its remaining claws, its injured leg spurting blood violently. Axel took the chance to clamber to his feet, holding the knife up defensively and jabbing out towards the beast, warning it. The intensity of the flyer's pain must have been great, as it continued to screech relentlessly and, upon seeing Axel's blade again, it began to retreat. It flew, higher and higher into the area, leaving a trail of blood behind it. There was no time to relax, however. Axel had not been victorious. He could not survive without his rifle. He had to give it back.

Without another thought, Axel began to give chase, following the trail of blood across that trickled over the foliage, a line of red amidst a world of green. His aching feet and tiring limbs were a distant memory. Any lack of stamina had vanished behind a veil of adrenaline, coursing through his veins, fuelling him as he sprinted through the leaves, the flyer's cries echoing ahead. It was slowing, the rapid loss of blood clearly affecting its ability to flee. Axel managed to start closing the gap, keeping the flyer directly in his sights. That was until he sprinted over something hard. Before he could take another step, the stone surface that had suddenly appeared beneath him collapsed. Axel disappeared in an instant, as if swallowed by the earth, plunged into darkness. When he hit the cold floor below, he was unconscious.


	2. Chapter 2: From Darkness

**Chapter Two: From Darkness**

The first thing Axel felt was the coppery taste of blood, trickling between his teeth. He was lying, face down, on his stomach, arms and legs sprawled outwards. As he came to, he soon became aware of just how much pain he was in. He had hit the ground hard, his forehead and ribs aching tremendously, so much so that, were it any more painful, he would have been certain he had broken something. It was agony, but he knew that he had to push through it. He could not lie against the ground all day, waiting for whatever other monsters the jungle accommodated to stumble upon him. With a muffled groan, Axel lifted himself with both arms, turning onto his back, falling back against the stone floor a little faster than he would have liked. The impact jolted his entire body, his aching bones punishing him for the sudden move. He groaned again, wincing as he looked upwards, the pale green light of the jungle bearing down upon him, shining through the surprisingly large hole he had made above.

As he squinted, his eyes adjusting to the brightness, he began to question his surroundings. At a first glance, Axel might have assumed that he had fallen down into some sort of cavern. However, with the sunshine casting a circle of light around the ground on which he lay, upon closer inspection he was able to make out small, yet highly intricate, markings within the stone. Not only that, by the surface of the stone itself was impossibly smooth, perfectly flat, glimmering in the sunlight as if it were polished. It was certainly not natural cave formation, it had been constructed, though Axel could only speculate as to who could done such a thing. According to records, Leviathan was one of the Frontier's more recent discoveries, said to have only ever inhabited primal species, certainly nothing intelligent enough to have created such a structure. Yet there it was, the stone surface pressing against Axel's back, so cold that he could feel it even through his suit.

The unmistakable sound of a howling flyer echoed throughout the jungle above. Evidently from the noise's proximity, the creature was not very far away. The fear of being devoured alive soon consumed the throbbing pains that coursed through Axel's bones, prompting him to clamber to his feet and move out of the giant spotlight he had unwittingly created for himself. As he retreated under the shadow of the roof above, he noticed that the ceiling was formed in the same fashion as the floor beneath him, complete with the markings and its shimmering finish. Likewise, the walls around him were constructed almost identically, the only difference being the markings, which glowed dimly, eerily, in the darkness, a faint, neon-blue light twinkling along each of the curious symbols. Axel had never seen anything quite like it, it reminded him of a circuit board, the blue energy flowing gently in adjoining lines and circles, running along the entirety of every wall. What was giving power to the lights, Axel could not fathom.

As enticing as the obscure lightshow was, Axel was soon broken from his entrancement by yet another beastly howl, though this time it was much closer than before. Not only that, but it was echoed by a second noise, another creature, then another, and another. They were calling to each other, communicating. From what Axel could make out, there must have been an entire flock of flyers honing in on his position. He had no choice but to plunge himself deeper into the darkness of the mysterious labyrinth he had now found himself within. It did mean abandoning the only exit he was aware of, though as he glanced back towards the damaged ceiling, he decided that it would have been too high for him to climb anyway, even with his jump kit. Fortunately, there was indeed another pathway, a narrow archway carved into the stone wall that led to an even narrower corridor. Axel could not see how far the corridor stretched, the end shrouded in a cloud of darkness, despite its marked walls illuminating the path in a ghostly blue light.

Ignoring his wounds as best he could, Axel held a steady, purposeful pace as he made his way along the corridor, panting quietly behind his mask, allowing the terrible screeches of the flyers to fade and, slowly, disappear altogether. His eyes soon began to adjust to the gloom, the glowing walls providing just enough light to feed his eyes with the information they required. It was not long before he came across another archway, the end of the corridor. As he passed beneath it, he entered into a far larger, circular room, capped with a dome-shaped roof. A series of archways stood around the room's circumference, carved into the walls flawlessly. Axel could not help but admire the architecture, it was incredible, almost awe-inspiring. A thick column reached up from the centre of the room, joining at the highest point of the dome-shaped ceiling above. It reminded Axel of pictures he had seen from books of humanity's ancient history as a child, roman pillars he believed they were called. Curiously, the linear markings on the walls all eventually led to the ceiling, with over a dozen glimmering blue lines trailing along the dome surface, all meeting in the centre, connecting with the pillar. Yet the pillar itself appeared lifeless. Not a single spot of light emanated from its smoothened cylindrical surface. There was, however, some kind of access point, a perfect square etched into the pillar itself, sitting at about the same height as Axel's head, electrical wiring and small metal tubing visible inside of it.

Axel took a step forward, intending to study the curious entity, clearly it resembled some sort of advanced technology. As he mused over what the room's purpose might be, his trail of thought was abruptly brought to a halt when he heard a faint squelching sound beneath his boot, echoing quietly around the circular hall. Axel looked down with a start, surprised, though what he saw surprised him even more. He had stepped in a puddle of blood, small but relatively fresh. A dull twinge of fear panged inside of him as he noticed that the puddle beneath him marked the beginning of an ugly trail, the blood running across the floor in violent, parallel streaks, as though someone had been dragged, leading to one of the shadowy archways. He was not alone. Something, somewhere was lurking in the darkness. He could not hear it, he could not see it, but he knew in his guts it was there. There was no mistaking it.

Against his better judgement, Axel felt compelled to follow the trail. Any one of the archways could lead to any number of gruesome fates. He had no idea how long each corridor could go on for, or how many adjoining corridors there may be at the end of them. For all he knew, he was an insect, trapped within a giant web, and the monster that had spun it could be hiding around every corner. Retreating back the way he had come would be fatal, he had never heard flyers so riled up, he was certain they would still be searching for him. At least in following the blood, his fate was uncertain, he had a chance, perhaps he could even save whoever, or whatever, might be bleeding. Instinctively, he pulled his knife from its sheath, its blade still speckled with blood from the flyer, holding it up defensively in front of him as he crept towards the bloody archway ahead of him. As he passed beneath it, leaving the hall behind him, the flowing blue markings that ran along the walls gave light to more terrible scene than Axel had initially imagined.

There were three bodies in total, one decapitated, another disembowelled, the third remaining surprisingly intact. Each of them wore identical clothing, standard issue close quarter battle pilot gear, coloured entirely black, a covert operations team. It was then that Axel remembered them. He had seen these men before, on the very first day he had touched down in the jungle. They had accompanied him on the dropship that had transported him from the flagship to the ground. As soon as they had made landfall, they had disappeared into the jungle without a trace. Axel had not spoken to them much, though they had come across as arrogant and irritably secretive, something that seemed to be an inherent trait for any covert operative. Still, dislikeable as they may have been, Axel would never have wished such a fate upon them. He did not speculate as to what might have mutilated them, he did not want to, he would only end up causing himself to panic. He needed to stay on track, focus on finding another way out. The men before him must have entered somehow, Axel just had to find the way, and fast.

Taking care to avoid stepping on the innards of the disembowelled pilot, Axel navigated his way around the bodies. As he approached the third one, he noticed it twitch. Axel stopped in his tracks, peering down at the body with caution, unsure whether or not he had imagined it. His uncertainty was quickly dispelled, the pilot's hand shooting out and grabbing hold of Axel's ankle, gripping him tightly. The pilot groaned, his head lolling to one side, facing Axel. His eyes suddenly shot open, wide and bloodshot, filled with terror. He stared at Axel as if he were looking right through him. He opened his mouth to speak but only gargles came out and he coughed wildly, blood spurting from his lips. Though Axel was certainly not unsympathetic, he motioned for the pilot to be quiet, painfully aware of how loudly the man's splutters throughout the structure. The man understood and managed to control his breathing, clearing his throat as quietly as he was able to and spitting a gob of blood on the floor beside him. To Axel's surprise, he was actually able to speak.

"You have to get out of here." He trembled, just managing to keep his voice at a whisper. Axel knelt down beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder, steadying him.

"What happened to you?" Axel's voice was hoarse and dry. It felt strange to speak, at least to say anything other than his rehearsed distress call.

"Our Spectre, it was our navigation," The wounded man struggled to speak coherently, "We were getting close to our objective when it suddenly malfunctioned, went haywire and left us for dead. We've been trapped here for days."

"What were you doing here?" Axel felt guilty for interrogating him, but he had to know. He had no idea where he was, what the structure had been built for, or even who had built it. Information could be useful to him, though unfortunately, the man before him seemed far too distracted to focus on anymore of Axel's questions.

"You need to go. Please," The man coughed again, loudly, "Turn back, take the third corridor on the left. We were so close to the exit, we could see daylight…" Axel saw tears well in his eyes, "Don't let it find you."

No sooner had the chilling phrase escaped the man's lips when his eyes rolled back and a final weak breath signalled to Axel that he had passed, his last words ringing in Axel's ears like some morbid chorus. Axel was no stranger to death or violence, but he had grown used to fighting with other people, with wild animals out in the open. Never had he encountered anything as haunting as this. With his will to survive overriding his moral compass, he quickly searched the bodies. All them had died unarmed, their weapons lost. Their cloak modules, technology installed within all covert op suits, were fried, unusable. They had had no chance of hiding from whatever it was that had been stalking them. Certain that the dead men held nothing that would be of any use to him, Axel followed the man's directions, turning back swiftly, heading back into the circular hall and making his way down the third corridor on the left.

It was mind-numbing how similar each corridor was to the next, apart from a few minor alterations in the patterns along the walls, they were virtually identical. The design of the structure was totally unlike anything Axel had seen before. The dimensions were too perfect, the stone too smooth. It all seemed so wrong, so out of place. What it was all doing in a Leviathan jungle, Axel figured he would never know. He moved quickly through the darkness, stepping lightly so to avoid making too much noise. After a tense period continuing forwards, with nothing but his rapid footsteps and his heavy breathing to remind him he was indeed still alive, he discovered yet another problem. Ahead of him, mere metres away, was a junction. Two pathways forked outwards in either direction, each as gloomy as the other, neither offering themselves as the obvious route to escape.

"Hello?"

Axel jumped, the sudden noise catching him off guard. The word had been quiet, almost crackly, as if muffled by static. There was another noise, barely audible, yet it sounded like the same voice, another word, hidden behind a chorus of hissing static. Axel looked down towards one of the pouches attached to his belt. The radio. The voice was coming from the radio. Axel could not believe what he was hearing, he did not think it possible. For a moment, he even reasoned that he might just be going insane. Yet the voice persisted, the words still indistinguishable, but almost certainly there. Someone was trying to contact him. His heart began to race. It was the first time he had ever heard anything come from the radio. In fact, it was the first time he had been given the slightest glimmer of hope since finding the device itself. Axel pressed down on the talk button and held it before his mouth.

"I hear you! Please, wait. I need to find better signal." In his excitement, Axel spoke much louder than he had intended, and he was blissfully unaware of how far his words echoed down the corridors adjacent to him.

Axel waved the radio around in the air, trying desperately to find an improved transmission. As he waved it to and fro, he noticed the responding voice get clearer, though only slightly, the closer he held it to the corridor on his right. Slowly, he began to move down the right-hand corridor, leaving the junction behind, and sure enough, the voice grew clearer and clearer. Willing to be optimistic, Axel took it as a sign that this corridor would indeed lead him out of the nightmare of a labyrinth.

"We can't hear you. Find some higher ground!" The voice, a female voice, crackled out of the radio's speaker.

"I am, I'm trying, please, just hold on!" Axel replied, shouting once again, increasing his steady pace to a frantic sprint. He knew whoever was contacting him would not wait around all day for him, he had to be quick. An unexpected curve in the corridor led him around a corner and to his disbelief, he saw light up ahead. It was so distant that to his eyes it was only the size of a small white pinprick, but it was there, right ahead of him.

It was at that moment when Axel's hopefulness was at its peak that the creature made itself known. Its tremendous roar boomed throughout the structure, so great that Axel felt the floor beneath him tremble and he was sure that he felt a brief gust of air pass him from behind. Normally, he would have continued to run, but the power of the noise had him stunned. He stopped and turned around, peering into the darkness behind him, the blue luminance not great enough to allow him to see what created the thunderous roar. He could hear it however, moving closer, huge quaking thumps echoing towards him as whatever it was lumbered his way. It was only when Axel started to make out the beast that he found himself turning and running, as fast as he possibly could. It emerged from the darkness, a huge hulking mass, still too dimly lit to pick out any features, though its size was clear, taking up almost the entire corridor.

Wall-running was engrained into Axel's muscles, it was a mandatory skill for every pilot to master, his training had sewn the ability into his very bones and now, without even noticing the transition, he was doing it, gliding along the vertical surface with ease. He knew he could run faster along the wall than he could along the floor, his jump kit aided him greatly, the thrusters firing periodically, increasing his speed significantly, propelling him forwards in controlled bursts, faster and faster. Axel no longer cared about using up his fuel. He had his chance to escape and he was going to do everything in his power to make sure he did, he was not going let it go to waste, not after all he had been through.

Whatever lurked behind him must have noticed his increase in speed, and started to pick up its own pace. Despite the help from his jump kit, the creature was gaining on him. Though he dared not to look back, it would only throw him off-balance, ruin his focus, he could not afford to slow down. The exit drew closer, the daylight bouncing off the shining stone surfaces and meeting with Axel. There were only a few metres left, but there were only a few metres between him and the creature also. He could hear it grunting behind him, its heavy breaths warm against the back of his head, even through his hood. The wall began to shake as the beast bounded recklessly towards him, undoubtedly eager to grab hold of him. Axel was not certain, though he could have sworn that it tried to reach out, to swipe him from the wall, the occasional meaty thud connecting with the stone and causing an especially powerful tremor along the wall. Axel did not allow himself to fall however.

The jungle had never been so inviting, so very welcome. It was like stepping out into a whole other climate. Axel had not realised it at the time, but the interior of the structure felt very different to the humid warmth of the outside world. Axel embraced it. His eyes stung as they adjusted to the light but the pain did not bother him. For a second he had even forgotten his pursuer, though when he turned around to look for it, he saw nothing. Whatever Axel had just emerged from, he could not see it. A large boulder stood where the entrance to the structure should have been, draped with wrinkling vines and dead leaves, a small embankment of raised ground sitting behind it. Axel was unsure what to make of it, had he somehow imagined the entire experience. He dismissed the thought immediately, the blood of the pilot he had spoken to was still dried to his gloves. He moved back towards the boulder cautiously, stopping suddenly when the roaring sound of the beast echoed from behind it. It was angry, or in pain, perhaps both. Axel felt like he was going mad, he had to know what had happened. Reaching out with a slightly uncertain hand, he went to touch the boulder. Yet his hand passed straight through it, causing the supposed rock around his wrist to ripple like water. It was an illusion, a hologram of sorts. Axel searched briefly for a projector, some kind of device that might be emitting the image, but he could find nothing.

The radio hissed with static once again and Axel was reminded he had far more important things to worry about. Turning on his heels, he sprinted through the jungle, brushing past trees and vines, jumping bushes and fallen branches. To his surprise, he recognised the area. He had walked through it on several occasions in fact. All this time, the jungle he had come to accept as his new home had been hiding something from him. Though what that something was precisely, he still had no idea. He did not tire as he ran. Neither the heat, nor the fact that he had been running and fighting for his life not so long ago, not fazing him remotely. He had the adrenaline to fuel his movements, the motivation to push himself, and that was all he needed. Before Axel knew it, he had found his way to the treeline and was climbing to the top of the resource base.

"Hello? Can you hear me?" Axel waited for a response. Static hissed but there was no voice to be heard. He swallowed nervously, "Are you still there?" Another pause. Axel could feel the anxiety building inside of him.

"Yes, we can hear you."

Axel exhaled loudly, sighing with unhidden relief. He was not sure what he would have done had they not responded. He quickly collected himself, he did not want to scare them away by sounding unstable.

"Ok. My coordinates are…"

"We have your coordinates. We received your transmission hours ago."

"Why didn't you respond?" Axel could not hide the frustration in his voice. The woman seemed to understand his annoyance, replying with a softer tone.

"When we received the transmission it came through scrambled. It took some time to decipher it. It's a miracle we received it at all."

"I understand. What's your ETA?"

"We've already breached the atmosphere. A dropship will be sent to you shortly…" The woman's voice trailed off. Axel noticed.

"What is it?"

"I need you to answer me honestly," She took a breath, pausing, as if afraid to ask, "Who do you fight for?"

Axel sighed. He knew it was coming. As far as he was concerned, he no longer fought for anyone, his only allegiance was to himself, to his survival. He figured the only reason the woman would ask that question would be if she were military, and since she certainly did not talk like a member of the IMC, she could only be part of the Militia.

"I was with the IMC," Axel had no intention of lying, there would be no point to it. Though he chose his words carefully, the woman, and whoever she was joined by, would likely already be readying their weapons, "I served as a pilot."

There was another pause, this one longer than the rest. Although they were miles and miles apart, Axel could almost feel the woman's thoughts racing.

"Served?" She finally said, her tone now noticeably colder than before.

"I know what you must think, but I've been stranded here for weeks now, maybe months," Axel could not let them leave, he had to keep them on his side. He noticed he still held his knife, clutched tightly in his other hand, which he allowed himself to finally drop suddenly, "Look, I'm alone and unarmed. You can hold me at gunpoint, cuff me, imprison me, I don't care. I just have to get away from this place."

Axel waited once again, unaware that he was holding his breath. He stared down at the radio in his hand, only then did he realise he was shaking. There was a loud hiss of static and then, quite abruptly, it was cut off, silenced.

"Hello?"

Axel clutched the radio in both hands, drawing it closer to his face, shaking it desperately.

"Hello? Please, please, you can't leave me here!"

Silence. Not one sound escaped the radio's speaker. Axel could not believe what was happening. They had waited all that time, deciphered his message, simply to abandon him. He could not accept it. He shouted into the radio again but still there was no reply, no hint of contact on the other side. Denial turned to anger and in a sudden fit of rage he hurled radio towards the ground, watching it shatter before burning eyes, his teeth gritted. He had just destroyed his only hope of contacting anyone else, but in that moment he did not care. Nothing mattered. With his mind racing, his anger clouding any remnant of rational thought, he merely stood still, his hands at his sides, curled into trembling fists. There was nothing that he could do.

The electronic buzz of the Crow's engine was therefore the last thing that Axel expected to hear, yet there it was, the hum-like noise growing louder and louder. Slowly, Axel looked towards the skies and, to his disbelief, he saw one of the Militia's trademark Crow dropships descending down towards him, lowering itself to his level and hovering before him over the edge of the base's roof. Axel simply stared at the machine, unable to speak. A mechanical door, positioned on the ship's side, slid open, the hydraulic mechanisms creaking and groaning as they did so, revealing two Militia pilots and a woman, dressed in civilian clothing. All three of them had weapons trained towards him. Without a word, Axel lowered himself slowly to his knees and placed his hands behind his head. The two pilots jumped out of the ship and made their way quickly towards him, one scanning the surrounding area with his rifle whilst the other kept his trained upon Axel. They pulled him to his feet, using an excessive degree of force, and dragged him back to the Crow. As he was hauled into the vehicle, Axel turned to face the woman.

"Thank you." He said, as genuinely as he could. The woman looked back at him, an eyebrow raised, her expression otherwise unreadable. When she spoke however, he tone made her thoughts clearer.

"Don't thank me yet." She muttered as they Crow's thrusters lurched the craft forwards and sent back towards the stratosphere from which it came. Though sat down, held in place by the two pilots, Axel was able to peer out of a small slit of a window. As he watched the jungle grow smaller and smaller, eventually disappearing beneath a layer of cloud, he felt nothing but relief. Whatever troubles lay ahead of him, not could surely be as bad as that which he was leaving behind.


	3. Chapter 3: Remembrance

**Chapter Three: Remembrance**

To anyone else, the cell Axel found himself locked inside of would likely have been considered uncomfortable. The claustrophobic space was little more than a metallic box, only seven feet high and about four feet wide, barely managing to provide room to sit down. The reinforced door that held him featured a small slit, little bigger than that of a letterbox, which was fitted with bulletproof glass, a dim florescent light from the corridor outside providing him with his only source of light.

Yet none of this fazed Axel, for all he cared he could have been in a penthouse suite in one of Haven's resorts. Despite being trapped on a Militia flagship, the artificial air was cleaner, lighter. There was no sun beating down upon him, no insects buzzing at his ears, no creatures lying in wait. He was safe, at least for now. Having been stripped of his pilot suit and gear and given a grey prisoner's jumpsuit, he knew fighting his way out was most certainly not an option.

That was not to say that Axel wanted to fight. He had been fighting for his life for, potentially, months. He had no intention of provoking more violence. After all that he had been through, he felt that he had earned himself a little rest, and a secure prison cell on a Militia flagship was definitely not the worst opportunity he could have been presented with. He could not be sure how much time exactly he had already spent within his new confines, having spent most of it sleeping, though neither did he care, he only hoped the peace lasted.

Although, the ever-lasting peace was not to be. All too suddenly, the light from the window was obstructed by a shadowy figure. Axel heard them punch in a four digit passcode on the door's console, a high-pitched beep sounding with each push. As the code was verified, there was a faint hiss as the hydraulic bolts on the door retreated and the locking mechanism groaned into life, opening the cage-like cell.

A Militia grunt stood in the doorway, the nervousness in his expression poorly hidden. Axel was not surprised, in fact he was used to it. Pilots had earned themselves quite the infamous reputation amongst the lesser grunts, especially with those fighting on opposing sides. In a single battle, pilots had been known to cut down dozens of grunt squadrons single-handedly.

It was therefore not particularly shocking when, after cuffing Axel and leading him out into the corridor, he saw a semicircle of grunt riflemen, at least ten in total, all training assault rifles towards him as he emerged from the cell. Though his escort kept him at distance from the other grunts, Axel could see the fear, the hatred in their eyes. Their fingers twitched as they hovered over their rifles' triggers, their hands shaking slightly, their eyes burning holes in him as they followed.

Even with a dozen live weapons being aimed at his back, Axel was still relaxed. The simple act of walking through a flagship was something to be cherished, something he never thought he would have the chance to do again. Whether in the hands of the enemy or not, he felt freedom. No longer was he trapped within that green hell that was the Leviathan jungle, that was all that mattered to him.

They walked for almost ten minutes, passing through numerous corridor and access ways. For the most part, each part of the ship seemed identical to the last, cold and uninviting walkways formed from steely grey walls and floors providing little in terms of scenery. Various crew members, most of them engineers or other civilian workers, darted about them as moved, some personnel occasionally stopping to glare and share their less-than-eloquent thoughts on the IMC and all that served them.

Soon enough, Axel was placed in another room, still restrained, and left on his own. Baring the flagship's seemingly trademark metallic walls, it was relatively uninteresting. A small stool sat in the centre of the space, fastened to the floor with bolts. With little else to interact with, Axel moved and sat on the stool, the metal-plated seat offering little comfort. As he did so, the wall in front of him shifted, the metal screeching in protest as a panel began to lift, disappearing into the ceiling and revealing a large mirror.

He almost did not recognise himself. It was the first time Axel had seen his own reflection in weeks. Though he was only a man of thirty-two years old, he was face appeared worn, suggesting his body belonged to that of a man perhaps even ten years older. Several wrinkles had set upon his forehead, beneath his eyes. He wagered there would be more along his cheeks however the thick brown beard he now wore, greasy from sweat and blood, hid most of his facial features beneath his nose.

It was his eyes that haunted him most. The vibrant blue spark he used to see in them had died. Instead, they seemed to resemble that of a man disturbed, someone who had a gone through hell and were yet to find their way out. Quite simply, he was a mess. His hair was the longest he had seen it in years. Since enlisting in the IMC, hair was to be kept short and shaven. The tangled and matted brown mop that now sat atop his head would never have been acceptable.

There was a slight crackle and Axel noticed a small speaker attached to the top right corner of the wall, hanging just above the mirror. He looked at it with curiosity, feeling as if he were in some sort of obscure interview room, realising the mirror once likely one-way. For a few moments, the crackling grew more intense, until eventually it settled and voice came through in its place.

"Done admiring yourself?" It was a woman's voice, Axel recognised it to belong to the same woman that had been on the Crow that had picked him up. He nodded meekly. "Fantastic." She murmured, the sarcasm all too clear.

"Thank you for rescuing me," Axel started, he had given plenty of thanks in person whilst aboard the Crow, though he did not want for it to seem that his gratitude had already been diminished simply because he had been held in a prison cell, "I really do…"

"If it's all the same to you, I'd rather it that you only speak when asked a direct question," The woman interrupted him, "We'll both get through this a lot faster that way."

Axel could not quite interpret whether or not the woman was irritated or merely uninterested. Either way, she certainly seemed to find addressing him a burden. Nonetheless, Axel nodded in acceptance, there would be no use in angering his captors further than he already had simply by saying that he served the IMC as a pilot.

"Now, if you could find a quick, painless way of explaining what exactly it was you were doing alone on Leviathan, that would be great."

"I was part of a Level Three security detail," Axel began, conversing with another being still felt strange to him and he paused, collecting his thoughts, "We had received a distress call from a team of civilian resource harvesters working at the jungle's edge. Their Spectre units had been destroyed and taken away by some of the more ferocious members of the native wildlife. They feared another attack was imminent and we were tasked with protecting them."

"So what happened when you landed?"

Axel took a deep breath, knowing that, like it or not, he was about to relive the nightmare he had tried so hard to escape.

As the Goblin dropship emerged from the clouds that had congregated within Leviathan's upper atmosphere, the side hatch door slid open and Axel took in the view before him. It was quite the magnificent sight to behold. On the right was the jungle, a mass of flourishing treetops that spread out as far as the eye could see, an ocean of swamp-green leaves and thick twisting branches. Even at his altitude, Axel could not tell where the other side of the jungle ended.

Then on the left there was the swamp, though it too might as well been some putrid form of ocean. Like the jungle it neighboured, the murky waters and bubbling mud pools flowed out for miles, a misty haze produced from the sun's heat hitting the rancid liquids preventing Axel from seeing any further. For all he knew, there was no world beyond the swamp, just an endless white fog instead.

Joining Axel inside of the Goblin were his two squad mates, Marco and Sven, who stood either side of him, holding onto the metal rungs above for support as the dropship began its slow descent. On the opposite side of the aircraft stood three other pilots, though Axel had not been given the opportunity to learn their names. They likely would not have told him anyway, they were covert operatives after all.

"You ain't part of the security detail then?" Marco yelled, though the pilots were able to communicate through inbuilt helmet intercoms, they still needed to shout in order for their voices to be heard over the roaring thrusters of the Goblin, not to mention the wind that was relentlessly bursting through the dropship's open hatch.

"Do we look like security, dipshit?" One of operatives replied. He was most likely the ranking officer, Axel mused, though it was often hard to tell. Covert operatives did not seem to follow any strict chain of command, and their pure black outfits not bearing any insignias that might suggest their rank.

"Oh, I'll tell you what you look like." Marco retorted, letting go of his rung and going to move forwards before Sven placed a hand on his shoulder, steadying him.

"Leave it, Marco." As their sergeant and their friend, both Axel and Marco respected Sven. Axel had never seen the man break a sweat, his cool-headed manner and calm but commanding presence made him ideal leadership material. Axel knew that one day, Sven would go far. It was the least he deserved.

As expected, Marco backed down, retaking his place at his rung and ignoring the snide chuckles from the other operatives. Axel eyed them with a degree of weariness, covert operatives all seemed to be cut from the same cloth, and a ragged, dirty old cloth at that. Marco had been poking them with questions since they had been jettisoned from the flagship, and still they were none the wiser as to why the operatives were even on board the Goblin with them.

The Goblin finished its descent and hovered a few metres above the roof of the resource base. A small gathering of workers stood beneath them, looking up with smiles, relieved smiles. With pilots watching over them, they would finally be sleeping easier at night. Sven gave Axel two pats on the shoulder, signalling for him to jump. Axel obeyed and leapt from the open hatch, using his jump kit to control his fall. He touched down on the roof expertly, landing flat on his feet.

Marco was out next and Sven went to follow, though before he could reach the edge of the hatch, one of the operatives pushed past him, nudging him out of the way and allowing the other two operatives to follow suit. Axel gritted his teeth in frustration, unsure why they were to insist on being so disrespectful. Sven, on the other hand, barley batted an eyelid, retaking his position and jumping from the dropship entirely unfazed. How he kept so calm, Axel would never know.

Sven set about greeting the workers, quickly identifying the project manager and informing him of the arrangements that were to be made in order to maximise the base's security. Axel and Marco stood either side of him as unmoving sentries, awaiting further instruction. As the squad's marksman, Axel was given tools and a handful of workers and set to construct a series of new lookout platforms.

The scouting party that had arrived before the workers had been granted permission to begin extraction operations had already set up numerous outposts, placed high up within the trees, though many of them were too far from the base to allow anyone standing upon said outposts to sufficiently cover the workers and keep them safe should any hostile presence arrive.

After the lookout platforms had been set up, Axel stood guard alone. Several hours passed, though there was no sign of any threatening activity within the jungle. As the sun began to set, Sven and Marco decided to join Axel at his post. Under normal circumstances, the pilots would have been expected to remain at their stations, though with the nearest commander being in orbit and the workers content to go about their business undisturbed, even Sven could not see the harm in relaxing a little.

"You holding up ok, Axel?" Sven asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Scope's not picking up any sign of life, least nothing bigger than a rat."

"Tell me about it, this place is dead," Marco muttered turning to Sven, "The civvies tell you anything more about what happened here?"

"Not really." Even Sven seemed weary, sighing quietly to himself, "Though there was mention of a system-wide Spectre malfunction."

"What do you mean?" Axel inquired.

"Apparently, before the creature attack, the Spectre units broke protocol and started heading into the jungle. Some of the workers claim they saw the creatures tearing them apart and carrying away the scraps."

"Yeah, because flyers have always shown so much interest in robotics before." Marco scoffed, he had never had much patience around civilians, perhaps it came from having to risk his life saving them so many times.

"Gotta admit, I found it a strange too." Sven said, noting Marco's disbelieving tone.

"Speaking of strange," Marco started, "What happened with those spooks? Haven't seen the bastards since they got off the dropships. Not that I'm complaining."

"Civvies saw them heading out into the jungle with a Spectre. No ideas as to why though." Sven explained. No surprises there, covert operatives had a habit of doing whatever they pleased. Axel could have sworn that, sometimes, they weren't actually following any orders but instead simply operating under their own self-indulgent agendas.

"This assignment is such bullshit." Marco groaned.

"We have our orders, Marco, we obey them. That's what you signed up for, you don't get to bitch about it." Sven said, a hint of a smirk on his face.

"I don't remember signing up to obey orders from some fucking machine." Marco's mood was not showing signs of improvement, though Axel could not help but agree to some extent.

After the defection of Vice Admiral Marcus Graves, the fleet's Spyglass unit, a modified Spectre built to handle communications, deployment, navigation and logistics for the IMC, was then promoted to Vice Admiral and took charge of the fleet. Though having a machine as a leader allowed for pure logic to dictate the actions of the fleet, not all IMC personnel were entirely comfortable with following a robot.

Sven did not respond to Marco and after a short pause the conversation moved to another topic. The three pilots spoke for a while longer before eventually retiring back to their posts. For days, little else happened, so little in fact that Axel actually began to question the need for a security detail at all. From what he had observed, there had been no signs of anything amiss nearby the base, nothing to suggest that there would be any further creature attacks. He wondered why the IMC did not just simply commission the placement of an automated sentry turret system instead, there were far more productive things the pilots could be doing.

It was on the fifth day that Axel finally picked something up through his scope, something large, predatory in appearance. He kept is weapon trained upon it, following its movements careful. It moved in small leaps, bounding through the wilderness almost gleefully. From what Axel could make out, it was some sort of feline, with a slick grey coat and a long spindly tail.

The first scream caught Axel off guard, so much so that he almost did not even acknowledge it. The second scream caused him to turn, quickly, spinning his weapon around and aiming down towards the resource base. The radar pulse installed in the scope starting picking up multiple contacts, so many that the scope's entire lens with soon filled by glowing orange skeletons. Unable to make one body out from the next, Axel turned the system off, the pulsing orange strobes disappearing and revealing a crowd of workers, spewing out of the base, clearly panicked.

"Marco, sitrep!" Axel heard Sven call over the helmet intercom.

"Creatures, a lot of them, inside the base, four civilian casualties, I'm calling for evac!"

"Roger that, moving to assist. Axel, continue to provide overwatch."

Though every fibre of his being urged him to leap from his post and assist his squad, Axel obeyed. He listened as the chaos grew down below, the workers falling into hysteria, running in every direction, some fleeing into the jungle and others desperately seeking sanctuary in the swamp water. He continued to track the movements of the workers as best he could, waiting with bated breath for one of the beasts to appear within his sights.

Once again he was caught off guard. A screech, ear-piercingly loud, blasted out from something, something directly behind him. Axel spun round, his heart missing a beat as he beheld the horror show before him. Flyers, not just one but dozens, soared towards him, dipping and diving amongst the trees and branches. A ripple of movement across the ground caused him to glance down and he noticed the vibrant green jungle grass had been replaced by a tidal wave of feline predators, resembling that which he had spotted before.

The mass of fur, claws and teeth bounded towards the resource base, the ground shaking beneath them so fiercely that it even shook the tree in which Axel was perched. The sheer number of beasts that had suddenly amassed stunned him and, albeit for only a moment, he was unable to move, frozen, staring down at the hell that rumbled below. Shaking himself from his brief trance, he brought up his sniper rifle and went to fire, though his finger never reached the trigger.

In his haste, Axel had forgotten the flock of flyers, now speeding right towards him. When the first of the flock reached him, it arrived with so ferocious speed that the lookout's wooden platform splintered beneath its weight, the planks splitting, falling from the tree. The impact launched Axel into the air, knocking him from the platform like a ragdoll. Gripping his rifle tightly, he began his rapid descent towards the ground below.

Axel was fortunate. The height of the lookout provided him with ample time to readjust his fall and position his body in such a way that, milliseconds before hitting the ground, he was able to fire up his jump kit, the thrusters burning behind him. The force of the thrusters was just enough to prevent him from crippling himself, and he managed to fall into a forward roll, finishing on the ground in a crouched position, weapon raised.

The herd of predators had already passed him and were mere seconds from reaching the resource base. Above, the flyers ignored him, also continuing on towards their prize, thirty helpless bodies were far more appealing that one armed soldier. With no means to provide overwatch, Axel felt it was an appropriate time to disobey orders and swiftly moved into a sprint, the resource base quickly coming to view.

It was a terrible scene. The workers that had managed to escape the structure of the base itself had congregated on a small clearing, a low plain of mud and sand that separated the swamp from the jungle. With creatures pouring from the jungle like ants from a nest, they had nowhere to go. The clearing became a killing field, a true massacre.

The feline predators reach the workers first, leaping onto their prey and holding them down with powerful paws, gnashing at the faces of their victims, bloodying their fangs as their tore away the flesh with ease. The flyers were next, swooping down and, with mighty claws, plucking people from the group like toys, carrying them high into their and devouring them mid-flight.

Firing the semi-automatic as fast as he could, Axel barely made a dent in the hoard. He spied two flyers carrying a worker away, they began to fight over the wriggling body, slashing and grabbing at either side of him with their claws. Axel aimed and fired but it was too late, the poor man was ripped in two before the bullet made impact, his entrails spilling down over the crowd below in a bloody shower.

Those that had chosen to flee into the swamp water soon came to realise that they too were not safe from danger. Axel watched as one woman, splashing as she ran through the shallow water, was suddenly pulled beneath the surface, disappearing into the murkiness briefly before resurfacing with an eruption of blood, water and mud, what appeared to be some ghastly reptile having clamped its jaws around her legs. With deadly precision, Axel fired at the reptile, hitting it square in the eye, though the woman had already bled out.

Never had he felt more helpless. Try as he might, Axel could do nothing to save the workers from their gruesome fate. As accurate as he was, there were simply too many creatures attacking from too many angles to stand any chance in saving them. Though he did not give up, in a fit of rage, Axel holstered his rifle, slinging it over his shoulder and instead drawing his RE-45 Autopistol, equipped with an extended magazine.

Raising the handgun out with one hand, Axel charged forwards, pull the trigger and refusing to let go until he had emptied the entire clip into the mass of predators. There were too many for the bullets to miss and the .45 calibre rounds chipped away at the creature's thick skins, ripping out chunks of flesh and fur, causing the beasts to squeal and collapse. As Axel grew ever nearer to the crowd, a worker began to crawl from beneath the body of one of the dead predators, soaked in its blood.

Reloading, and praying for his legs to move faster, Axel sprinted towards her, pre-emptively holding out one hand for her to grab onto. But he was unable to reach her. When only metres away, a flyer landed between the two of them, screeching at Axel aggressively, defending its food. With a cry of anger, Axel brought the pistol round and unleashed the hail of bullets into the flyer's head. The rounds chewed the creature's skull apart, leaving little but a spurting stump above the neck.

The flyer's lifeless body fell to one side, limp, and Axel vaulted over it, hand outstretched once again, ready to offer to the fallen woman. Yet she was gone. He looked around frantically, noticing that there was a trail of blood beginning at where she had just been lay. He followed the trail quickly, spying one of the predators had already claimed her, its claws slashing into her opened stomach, splashing innards everywhere.

Enraged, Axel went to fire, but another predator targeted him first, breaking from the herd and pouncing on him, taking him crashing down to the ground, the mud squelching and splashing up around them. The creature had Axel's gun arm pinned, though his other arm was free enough for him to retrieve his knife. As the predator lashed forward with its teeth, centimetres from Axel's face, he drove the knife into the base of the beast's skull. It died instantly, though that did not stop Axel from rolling the creature off and kneeling on top of it, stabbing and slashing at the lifeless body almost maniacally.

"Axel! Get over here!"

Axel looked up suddenly, realising the uselessness in his crazed actions and sheathing his knife. He searched for the voice, eventually spotting Sven standing in the entrance of the resource base, beckoning wildly for him. Axel nodded and stood, letting off a few more rounds as he ran towards Sven, covering his back until the weapon was completely dry. The creatures had completely consumed the crowd of workers that had once stood gathered in the clearing, and now he had their full attention.

Those that were not gorging themselves on fresh corpses began to disperse, several of them turning to pursue Axel. Sven helped provide cover as he made his way over, using a semi-automatic Hemlok Burst-Fire Rifle to cut down the advancing predators with great effectiveness, the three-round bursts shredding through their targets.

The second Axel reached Sven, he realised the calm and collected sergeant he once knew had been broken. Sven's eyes were wide with fear, and although he was not reckless when he opened fire, he was most certainly afraid. Sven ushered Axel inside and continued to provide cover from the entrance. As Axel moved further into the structure, he soon realised exactly why Sven was so shaken.

The interior was just as bad a scene as that outside, if not worse. The room was red with blood, civilian bodies strewn about in bits and pieces. There were guts stuck to the walls, to the ceiling. Axel had never seen anything like it. Then, in the centre of it all, stood Marco, wielding a Spitfire Light Machine Gun to cut down the final few predators the remained. The powerful rounds mowed through them, limbs exploding from their bodies in bloody arcs.

"I can see the dropship, it's almost here!" Sven shouted from the entrance. Axel turned, hoping to see the Goblin right outside, though alas, there was no such sight. Instead there was a sound, the horrible screeching of claws against metal, the explosion of an engine failing and then the terrible clatter of metal and flame as what remained of the dropship plummeted into the sand, crushing a dozen bodies, alive and dead, beneath it.

Sven turned to Axel, a look of despair upon his face. Axel felt the same, the hopelessness of his situation quickly sinking in. It was harrowing to see the sergeant in such a way, it was unnatural, unnerving. Then Sven disappeared. Just like that, in the blink of an eye. Axel barely had chance to process it, the flyer had pulled the sergeant away in an instant, carrying him off into the air, back into the gloomy depths of the jungle.

Whilst Axel dropped to his knees, unable to comprehend what was happening, Marco had quite the opposite response, raising his Spitfire and charging towards the spot in which Sven had been stood. The hoard of beasts that advanced towards the resource base was certainly less sizeable that it initially had been, though that was a small comfort.

"Motherfucking animals." Marco growled, the words choking in his throat. He began to unleaded his Spitfire onto the terrible mass, spraying the bullets wildly, so much so that several missed the animals completely and merely spat up chunks of mud and sand. The rounds that actually hit their intended targets were incredibly effective, the bodies of the creatures struck practically exploding upon impact.

Axel new that Marco was going to die. He called out to him but the frenzied man could not hear him, or perhaps he ignored him. Regardless, Axel knew that if he did not act soon, he would die too. Scanning the room frantically, he searched for options, his eyes eventually settling upon a pile of mutilated workers, pressed up against a corner. Clearly a group had collected there, backing up against the walls, unwittingly trapping themselves.

With fear and adrenaline surging through him, Axel barely even considered the grotesqueness of what he was doing, he didn't even notice the smell. Moving the bloody remains when necessary, he clambered in and amongst the pile of bodies, eventually sinking beneath them, covering himself entirely with the corpses. Though he did not see Marco die, being hidden out of sight, he certainly heard it. He had never heard his friend make such gut-wrenching noises. The sound made Axel's skin crawl. All he could do was listen as Marco was torn apart, the terrible ensemble of tearing flesh, breaking bones and gargled screams echoing throughout the metallic structure.

Axel looked towards the one-way mirror emptily, looking past his own reflection, as if staring at the woman watching him from behind it. He had said enough, he wasn't even sure why he had said so much. Perhaps he had needed to face it, to let it out, to unburden himself, though having explained everything now, he did not feel better, not even remotely.

"I hid. Like a coward." Axel muttered the words through gritted teeth, his hands clenching into fists in his lap.

"There was nothing you could have done." It was the first thing the woman had said since he had begun to tell his story, and for the first time, she actually sounded genuine, sympathetic. "I know this is difficult for you, but is there anything more you can tell me, anything at all?"

It took Axel a few minutes to recollect himself, though eventually he found the strength to explain the rest of his story. He spoke of his survival, how he had to lay in wait for the creatures to leave the resource base, how he had to listen to them feasting on the bodies he hid beneath, how, when he was certain that only one or two remained, he revealed himself, killing the last of the predators with his blade and seeking refuge.

Having explained the means by which he kept himself alive, he went on to tell of obscure ruins beneath the jungle's soil, the massacred covert operatives, the holographic entrance. At first, Axel could tell that the woman was in a state of disbelief, in fact she had probably thought him to have lost his mind. Though as he continued to discuss the matter in more detail, he felt that he was able to convince that his story was indeed the truth.

"Thank you," The woman said, clearly preparing to wrap the conversation up, "I will take this information to my superiors, they'll decide what action to take."

"You can't go back there." Axel mumbled.

"It's not my call." The woman replied.

"So, what becomes of me?" Axel said, the room falling into silence. There was an uncomfortable pause and he shifted in his seat agitatedly, holding his breath.

"I'll have an escort take you to the showers," The woman finally responded, "Get yourself cleaned, get some rest, and we'll talk in the morning. Face to face."

Axel sighed with relief, unable to hide a smile. He nodded appreciatively towards the mirror and the speaker crackled again as the woman turned off the intercom. Seconds later, the grunt that had escorted him previously pulled him to his feet and led him out of the room. He tried to focus upon the warmth of the shower, the freedom after having a fresh shave, but no matter how hard he attempted to avoid it, his thoughts continued to wander back to the sounds of Marco's final deathly cries.


	4. Chapter 4: Lesser Evils

**Chapter Four: Lesser Evils**

The man in the mirror was a stranger. Despite having showered and shaven, his thick beard being entirely removed and his hair trimmed to a neat crew cut, Axel still saw little resemblance of the man he had once known himself to be so many moons ago.

He had guessed right when in the interrogation room, the loss of his facial had had indeed revealed several small wrinkles across his cheeks, not to mention tiny scars that ran down beneath his chin from wounds he had not even known he had received.

Although he was somewhat shaken by the foreign reflection he saw before him, Axel was still not unable to appreciate, nor ungrateful of, the hospitality that the Militia had provided him with. No longer being kept in a cell, he had been provided with a small bedroom, fitted with an en suite and several basic utilities. Granted the front door was locked from the outside, though Axel did not mind in the slightest. He had no desire to escape the cosy confines of his new room any time soon.

Admittedly, the sudden improvement in his standard of living had all been a little unexpected for Axel. The cell he had previously been staying in had been more suited to what he had thought the Militia would be keeping him in, and he had been more than prepared to spend the next few months there if necessary.

Whilst he had certainly wasted no time indulging himself in the soft, fluffed pillows and silky-smooth sheets the moment the new room had been presented to him, Axel could not help feeling sceptical, like he was being softened up for something.

With that being said, he had also been provided with medical care. Though the flagship's doctor had been reluctant to treat an IMC patient at first, Axel had heard that the ship's very own admiral had given the order to treat Axel as another member of the crew, unconditionally.

Axel had not been aware of the extent of the damages his body had received during his time in the jungle. Sprains, fractures, infections and unhealed wounds littered his entire body. He was lucky to be alive, or so the doctor had said, somewhat half-heartedly.

Once his body had recovered, he was given access to the ship's pilot training modules; cylindrical machines that allowed a person to enter and, via digital simulation, be completely immersed within a virtual training ground. After a much needed session in honing his skills, practicing parkour, ranged and hand-to-hand combat and Titan control, he was even permitted to compete with other Militia pilots in one of the simulator's War Game modes.

Placed within a fully rendered war zone environment and making light work of his competitors, the horrors of the jungle soon began to fade into distant memories. Though the Militia's simulators were far cruder than those used by the IMC, they were more than substantial for Axel's needs. Within a mere day or two, his training and muscle memory had kicked in and, with the help of more regular and nutritious diet than that which he had been accustomed to on Leviathan, he was finally back in a fit and fighting shape.

Trained, fed and given a place to shower and sleep, Axel almost forgot that the Militia had ever been his enemy. So, when the day came that he was called to a meeting with the flagship's admiral over dinner, he was considerably unprepared the proposition he was about to put forward.

"Are you out of your mind?" Axel exclaimed, choking slightly on the chunk of steak he had just swallowed.

The admiral's cabin was unlike any other part of the ship, and could just have easily belonged in a Haven resort. The dining section of the cabin was walled off from the rest, forming a neat little conference room, fitted with a long polished table and elegant décor. Two windows were fitted on either side of the room, and whilst neither physically looked out towards anything, holographic displays enabled observers to view, and cycle between, vast desert landscapes, vibrant rainforests and glistening blue oceans.

The admiral, a fifty-something year old man with a balding head and thickset shoulders, sat at the opposite end of the table to Axel, and was joined at either side another man, who was of a smaller frame and wore large unattractive spectacles, and the woman from the dropship. The woman, with her dark dinner dress, short hazelnut hair and clear, light skin, was looking considerably more formal than she had when she and Axel had first met.

"If your story really isn't complete bollocks, then we need to investigate those ruins you found." The admiral grumbled in his strong cockney accent through gritted teeth, clearly getting tired of repeating himself. He seemed on edge, gripping the neck of his wine glass so tightly that Axel thought it might shatter at any second. He must have figured Axel would have been resistant to the idea of returning to the jungle, though he likely underestimated the extent of Axel's resilience.

"If you could only hear how naïve you sound." Axel retorted. "If you truly listened to my story, you'd know the amount of risk involved."

"I did listen, and it seemed to me that the IMC simply wasn't prepared for what the jungle had in store for them. I, on the other hand, will not make the same mistake." The admiral took a sip of his wine and cleared his throat, though before he could say anything more, the woman decided to speak instead.

"We'll be sending in a whole battalion. Titans, Crows, everything we've got." Though neutral in expression, Axel could tell that she was trying to comfort him. The gesture was not lost on him, but his anger towards the admiral was too great for him to show any real appreciation. He could not believe they would ask him for his help, after all that he had been through.

"Those lands are yet to be mapped, there're hardly gonna be any signs for us to follow. All you have to do is find the entrance for us. We'll do the rest." The admiral said, though he was making no attempt to provide any reassurance for Axel. Instead, his tone was filled with irritation, impatience.

"What's so important to you about these ruins?" Axel asked, desperate to understand why anyone would want to risk so many lives for a haunted old structure.

"What you described in your interview suggests that the ruins are of alien origin." It was the smaller, spectacle-wearing man's turn to speak, his nasal voice barely reaching Axel from across the room. "Evidence of ancient, sentient races have been found in the past, though no records suggest anything quite like this."

"Quite like what?" It was Axel that now sounded impatient.

"The site you found is still active, somehow." The man hesitated. "It still has power."

"So?"

"So, the last time we successfully accessed alien technology it sent our own technology forward by a century." The admiral interjected.

"Whatever is in those ruins could really help the outer colonies. Those people are still living in the stone ages." The woman spoke again now, leaning forward in her seat towards Axel. If she was looking out for the colonies, she and the rest of Militia accommodating Axel aboard the flagship were likely part of Marauder Corps, one of the Militia's more infamous brigades amongst the IMC. "Besides, if this alien tech turns out to be a weapon, we have to stop it from falling into the hands of the IMC."

"So you can keep it for yourselves?" Axel spat, shooting a dark glance towards the woman. For the first time, she seemed to react; her expression almost suggested that she was hurt by the comment.

"So we can destroy it." She finished, leaning back in her seat and drawing her eyes away from Axel and the table. Axel felt a tinge of guilt, perhaps he had been a tad too presumptuous, though he could not help the level of discomfort he was experiencing simply from the mere suggestion of heading back to Leviathan.

Before anyone else at the table was able to utter another word, a bright red alert message flashed into life on one of the holographic displays, replacing the landscape shown before it. The admiral nodded towards the woman and she stood, moving to the alert message and tapping the display with one finger. A distorted video feed was suddenly brought up.

Though pixelated, clearly using a crude connection, Axel could make out a figure dressed in Militia military gear facing towards the camera. The admiral stood also and made his way around the table, looking at the distorted figure and preparing to address him. A small camera attached about the display blinked into life, a red LED blinking to single communications were ready to be made.

"This is Admiral Tyler Vanon of the Marauder Corps, reporting from the Tombstone of the Militia's 2nd Fleet. Identify yourself."

"Sir." The figure panted, his heavy breath crackling through the speakers that was were attached to the wall, either side of the display. "This is Captain Aaron Ryan. I'm from Juggernaut Corps, 3rd infantry battalion. We were sent to provide protection for the colonies on Delta XI." Delta XI was a small desolate planet located on the edge of the Badlands System. Axel had heard a group of officers discussing an invasion there prior to making landfall on Leviathan.

"Cut to the chase, Captain." Admiral Vanon snapped.

"Sorry, sir. We're in desperate need of reinforcements. It looks like an entire IMC fleet has arrived. We heard some of Marauder Corps had arrived in the system, we could really use a hand from you guys."

"Understood, Captain. We're on our way." Vanon nodded to the woman who promptly ended the call and turned off the display. Vanon reached both his hands up in the air, stretching with a groan and clicking his fingers casually. "Been a while since we had a good fight. You, Axel." Vanon gestured towards Axel, who looked back with a furrowed brow. "You're a pilot, yes? Suit up then. You're fighting with us."

"Admiral, sir." The woman began to jumble her words, clearly surprised, stepping towards Vanon hesitantly. "We need him for the mission. He's no use to us if he gets shot."

"I'll not have a traitor leading my men, Sarah!" Vanon turned on the woman rather viciously, causing her to step back. Noticing his aggression, the admiral paused, lowering his tone. "He'll fight alongside us in and prove himself in battle or die along with the rest of those IMC bastards." The woman, Sarah, did not respond, avoiding the piercing gaze of Vanon. Axel, on the other hand, was not so submissive; the admiral's rank meant nothing to him.

"You're asking me to fight against people I trained with, fought with." Axel stood, glaring at Vanon, making no attempt to hide his anger.

"I'm not asking." Vanon said coldly. "If you don't fight, I'll put a bullet in you myself."

No sooner had the words left Vanon's mouth, the admiral was making his way out of the dining room before Axel could have any chances to protest further. He could not believe the arrogance of the man. First he wanted Axel to return to the very hell he had spent weeks trying to escape, and then he wanted him to turn on his old comrades, just like that.

Axel was unsure what to do. He had no particular love for the IMC as an organisation; those in charge seemed to have grown more and more corrupt, drunk with power and wealth. Attacks on unarmed civilian colonies had never been something Axel had signed up for, though fortunately he had personally managed to avoid any such task being assigned to him.

However, with that said, many of the men and women were, much like Axel, good and decent people. After the events on Leviathan, Axel had decided that he no longer wanted to have to pick a side. He did not want to fight, not with anyone. Whilst sitting on the fence had never typically been his style in the past, a quiet life on some outer farming colony didn't sound like such a bad idea after what he had been through.

"Graves went through this too, you know?" Sarah said, breaking the silence and pulling Axel back into the present world. He had not realised it, but he and Sarah had been left alone.

"What?"

"Marcus Graves, former Vice Admiral for the IMC."

"I know who he is. What about him?"

"When he defected from the IMC, he hated it too, at first. The idea of betraying his fellow soldiers haunted him for quite some time but, eventually, he was able to see the bigger picture. You will too." Sarah had moved closer to Axel, perching herself on the edge of the table, more relaxed now that she was no longer under the watchful eye of her superior.

"And what is this bigger picture, exactly?" Axel was sceptical, he was not looking for more Militia propaganda stories, he had seen enough of those in the past to last a lifetime.

"Do you remember why Graves defected?" Sarah raised an eyebrow towards Axel, waiting expectantly, though Axel merely returned her look with a blank expression. She sighed. "That scrap heap, Spyglass, called off the evacuation just before Demeter went nuclear, leaving everyone for dead. An entire IMC fleet was left stranded for months. Sure, some people say it was the logical decision, but it was more inhumane than it was logical."

"I don't see…" Axel began though Sarah cut him off immediately.

"Then the IMC went on to promote Spyglass for his decisiveness, they attacked more colonies, invaded more territories, you following?" Sarah paused and Axel nodded, allowing her to continue talking. "Through so-called logic, Spyglass and his superiors are more than happy to waste the lives of innocents, and their own soldiers, simply to serve the economic needs of the IMC."

"It's not like that…" Axel started but again was interrupted.

"Isn't it?" Sarah scoffed, a humourless laugh escaping her. "The same thing happened to you and your friends on Leviathan, or have you already forgotten? No one came looking for you, did they? No, that would have been too much trouble for the IMC. They left you for dead, just like those people on Demeter. You beginning to see the pattern?"

Sarah was noticeably more agitated now, her breathing had quickened and her face was flushed. Axel was a little lost for words, he had not expected to agree with her, yet for some reason he felt himself compelled to accept what she was saying. It made sense after all. The IMC were commissioning machines to lead men, machines that had likely been programmed to further the needs of the corporation, and little else besides that.

Though he agreed that the IMC seemed to be lacking in regards to the extent to which they cared for the lives of their personnel, he still felt conflicted. It was highly likely that one of the ships joining the fleet in the attack on Delta XI would be his own, the one that he had resided on for almost two years, where he had met Sven and Marco and all the other pilots on board. Leaning in towards him a little more, Sarah waited patiently as Axel processed what she had said.

"We've removed the IMC tags from your pilot suit." Sarah said, breaking Axel's thought processes. "To our forces, you'll appear as friendly."

"But not to IMC forces." Axel noted. The IMC would be targeting him just as they would with any other member of the Militia, the thought of it made him feel sick. Although, perhaps it was better this way, if he did not fight then he would die anyway, either by the hands of the IMC or by the hands of Vanon himself. He no longer had the luxury of choice. Once again, he was being thrown into a situation of personal survival, of fighting just to stay alive.

This time, however, perhaps it was the lesser of two evils. He would rather fight in self defense than actively hunt down former comrades, and in the back of his mind, in the far reaches of his conscience, he knew that deep down if he had to fight for the IMC's cause or the Militia's cause, the Militia would be the one he would choose.

Standing amongst a squad of Militia pilots aboard a Crow was not something Axel had ever quite imagined himself doing. It was as awkward and as alienating as he might have expected however. Waiting amongst them in his pilot suit, he was a grey and blue anomaly amidst a herd of greens, browns and oranges.

Never had he felt more out of place and, judging from the dirty looks the other pilots shot towards him periodically whenever he made eye contact, he would not be surprised if one of them were to put a bullet in him the moment he jumped out from the dropship. As several of the pilots quietly chattered amongst themselves, not a single word was spoken to Axel, though he preferred that to having some sort of argument with one of them.

All of the windows and hatches on the Crow were sealed, so Axel could only assume that they had not made it into Delta XI's orbit yet. It was going to be a long ride. There were few thoughts he could find to comfort himself, if he was not focusing on the awkwardness inside the dropship, then he could only think about the upcoming battle, shooting an IMC soldier for the first time. The idea of it made him queasy.

There was a rumble and the entire craft juddered, metallic clanks sounding loudly, prompting Axel to question the dropship's fidelity. There was another quake, this time stronger than before, followed by the hissing of some hydraulic mechanism. Soon after, the Crow lurched and Axel knew that it had detached from the flagship. They would be beginning their descent through the stratosphere any minute.

Axel watched as the other pilots, five of them in total, began readying their weapons, checking their ammunition and ensuring one last time that their tactical modules were all in full working order. He had been armed with a Hemlok, which was fitted with an Advanced Optical Gunsight with 2.4x magnification, an extended magazine and a suppressor. At least he would not be sniping from long range.

In this particular instance, he resented the idea of sitting on the side lines, picking off IMC men and women from afar. No, this time he needed to be given a reason to fight back. He did not intend to shoot unless shot at, and whilst he knew the risks all too well, it was the only way he would be able to live with himself should he actually survive. That was the way it needed to be.

Without warning, the Crow's rear hatch began to open and the warzone below was revealed. The ground was covered in a low-hanging fog and, by all accounts, it was a miserable day for a battle. The rain poured down relentlessly, millions of huge droplets falling by the hatch and splashing inside of the Crow. Amidst the fog, Axel could make out dozens of small fires, some likely miles away, plumes of grey smoke rising from them, adding to the fog's thickness.

The ground was wet with thick, pasty mud. Though they were heading towards what once would have been a flourishing field of flowers and grassland, the battle had torn up the earth and turned the area into a minefield of trenches, craters and disturbed soil. As Axel observed the mess below, a missile suddenly whistled by the Crow's hull, leaving a thin vapour trail in its wake, causing him to stumble back. The projectile had been far too close, and Axel quickly sobered up to the reality of his situation. He was going to have to fight aggressively, and shooting first might be his only option.

As the Crow began to descend towards the landing zone, marked by two red flares that glowed dimly behind a wall of fog, the sounds of the battle grew louder and louder. Rattling machineguns chattered endlessly, blending in seamlessly with the heavy pattering of the rain. Thunder and explosives boomed alongside one another, each bang indistinguishable from the next. Lightning flashed frequently, providing gruesome detailed snapshots of the battlefield that were otherwise hidden by the darkness of the black clouds above. At one moment, a Titan actually dropped right by the Crow, burning up from its speedy orbital descent. It whizzed past in a fiery blaze, protected by its shields, landing with a thud down below.

As the Crow levelled off, the dropship's Marvin unit waved the pilots out of the rear hatch and Axel followed his new comrades out into the downpour. As soon as his boots made contact with the mud below, he had to steady himself for balance, feeling his feet slowly begin to sink with a putrid squelching sound. Without any nearby structures, and all the trees in the area having been destroyed and knocked down in the fighting, movement would be highly restricted, even for a pilot. He was feeling lucky enough to have survived the descent, it would be a miracle for him to actually survive the battle.

Just ahead of the landing zone was a small makeshift shelter, formed inside of one of the deeper trenches that had been dug amongst the mud and soil. With a few wooden posts supporting a corrugated iron roof, it could barely even be classified as a structure, though according to the Militia, it was the 3rd battalion's headquarters.

The pilot squad made their way towards the trench, using their jump kits when possible to avoid any of the deeper pools of water that had formed in the muddy craters that pockmarked the field. Axel followed, though he doubted they would have cared if he had gone his own way. Left at the back of the group, any orders the squad leader gave certainly were not directed towards him.

Leaping into the trench, rounds from unseen enemies zipping above their heads, the squad took shelter beneath the corrugated iron. The metallic pattering of the rain above was almost as deafening as the battle itself, and the squad leader had to shout in order for the grunts that were manning the command post to hear her.

"Where do you need us?" She yelled.

"At the end of the north end of the field." A grunt yelled back, Axel recognised him to be Captain Ryan from the video feed. "IMC overran the local village, we've lost comms with our forward command post. They're pushing hard in this direction, we need the line held so that reinforcements can arrive. If we lose this LZ we're done."

The squad leader nodded in confirmation and led the way, using the jump kit to boost herself out of the trench with ease, followed by the rest of the squad. Axel went to follow, catching the confused and suspicious eyes of Ryan before he did so. He had almost forgotten he was wearing the uniform of the enemy. He wondered how long it would be until there was a friendly fire incident, accidental or intentional.

Out of the trench and sprinting towards the end of the mud-covered field, Axel continued to follow the pilot squad. Ahead, behind the fog, he could just make a cluster of white-hot flashes, large ones, clearly from some sort of vehicle. Whatever it was, it had launched a group of projectiles into the air, trails of white smoke snaking out from behind them. Axel observed them anxiously, noting that the projectiles were beginning to arc mid-air, falling back down towards the earth. They were mortar rounds.

Before Axel could signal any kind of warning, the shells passed over him and found their mark. The 3rd battalion headquarters were completely decimated, the mortar rounds showering the trench mercilessly. In a mighty eruption of earth and metal, the shelter was reduced to a smouldering ditch, the bodies of the soldiers inside either buried or vaporised by the blasts.

Ears ringing, Axel forced himself to leave the mess behind him and focus on the task ahead. The pilot squad had taken up a position in a crater right on the northern boundary of the field, crouching down and leaning against the mud, taking pot shots above the ridge periodically. Axel propelled himself forward with his jump kit and joined them quickly, a hail of bullets passing overhead just as he landed within the safety of the crater, spitting up dirt not far behind him.

"Captain Ryan's dead." Axel shouted to the squad leader. She seemed surprised for a moment.

"How?"

"Mortars. Could be a Mortar Titan up ahead."

"Got it. I need two of you with me. We're taking out that mortar position."

The squad leader did not wait for volunteers, she knew two would follow, though she likely had not expected Axel to be one of them. Axel knew that if the mortars were not dealt with soon, anyone situated within the field would be dead within minutes. Running alongside another pilot, who barely seemed to notice Axel, the ground soon changed to tarmac as they found themselves moving onto a narrow road. It had probably once been a pleasant countryside line, though now it was marked with blood, bullet holes and ash, all signs of nature destroyed.

The change in surface was far easier to move along though, and it did not take the three pilots long to pass through the fog and uncover the mortar's origin. Unfortunately, Axel had been correct, it was indeed a Mortar Titan. The magnificence of the Titan machines was always stunning. Despite being a pilot, Axel had not seen one up close for quite some time.

It was an Atlas chassis, the most well-rounded Titan variant in most combat scenarios. Standing almost twenty-five feet tall and weighing the same as four large civilian cars combined, the hulking humanoid machine was an intimidating sight. Detecting their arrival, it moved from its hunched-over mortar-firing stance and stood upright, holding a XO-16 Chaingun in its arms, a massive machinegun that cut down infantry like ants.

The sight did not faze the squad leader however and she promptly activated her tactical module, cloaking her and making her almost entirely transparent. To the keen human eye, it was still possible to see her translucent outline, shimmering in the rain, though through the optics of a Titan, she was invisible. Axel and the other pilot followed her lead, activating their cloak modules and leaping towards the Titan.

The pilot inside the great metal machine, all too aware that three cloaked pilots were about to swarm him, naturally grew paranoid, causing the Titan to fire out randomly into the ground, missing its invisible targets and merely spraying up chunks of grass, dirt and tarmac instead. Axel watched as the squad leader boosted herself up on to the Titan's Chaingun, shooting at the ammo belt that fed the rounds into the weapon and causing it to break, disabling the weapon.

The Titan dropped its now-useless weapon, though the squad leader had revealed herself and was now visible, scrambling up the Titan's right arm as she tried to get out of sight. As the Titan flailed its left arm in an attempt to grab the squad leader, the other Militia pilot slung his Anti-Titan weapon, an AT-ARL Sidewinder, from his back and began to fire towards the Titan's optics. The hostile Titan soon turned its attention towards the attacking pilot and lunged forwards with one arm, bringing it down towards him.

The pilot side-stepped almost an inch too late, though luckily managed to boost out of the way, just in time for the Titan's fist to come crashing down into the tarmac, the collision causing a star of cracks to spread out from the point of impact. Axel took the opportunity to make his move, sprinting forwards towards the lowered arm of the Titan, he began to make his way up the mechanical limb, running along it with ease and reaching the top of the Titan's ovular torso.

The squad leader, already on top, was tearing open a metal plate from the machine's hull, exposing wiring and tubing beneath. With the other pilot on the ground, still hitting the Titan with the Sidewinder, Axel and the squad leader were able to open fire on the exposed interior of the machine. Soon enough, the damages were too great and a burst interior valve caused the Titan to ignite. Fires began to break out all across the machine's body and the pilots took their cue to leap away from the hull.

The enemy pilot inside the Titan activated the eject function, shooting him out from a hatch situated on top of the chassis, up into the air, being entirely engulfed by the fog and storm above. Axel turned his attention back to the dying Titan, and suddenly a shiver ran straight through him. A lightning blue ball of light began to pulse from inside of the Titan shell, signalling that the machine's core had been set to detonate, turning the machine into a miniature nuclear bomb just waiting to go off.

"It's going nuclear, we have to move!" The squad leader cried and the three pilots began to sprint back the way they had come. They ran as fast as they could, but they simply did not have enough time. Within seconds, the Titan detonated. A massive plume of yellow and orange flame erupted into the sky above, a circle of fire exploding out in all directions from the destroyed chassis.

Axel felt the flames lick against his back. The heat was agonising, though he only felt it for an instant, as the force of the blast sent him into the air, throwing him several yards ahead before he came plummeting back down to the ground, landing hard against the road. Dazed from the impact, he could hardly see, his ears rang at a single, unending frequency and he was unable to focus, his vision blurring.

As his senses slowly returned to him, he heard screaming nearby. He rolled over weakly, spotting the squad leader writhing on the ground in pain, completely consumed by flames. Seconds later she was dead. Dismayed, Axel turned away, only to see the other Militia pilot lying beside him, blackened and charred from the explosion, motionless.

There was nothing he could do, he was in too much pain to stand, so instead he began to crawl back towards the rest of the squad. With all the smoke and fog, he was unable to see them, he was not even certain he was heading in the right direction. Although in the end it did not matter, he did not get chance to make it very far. The tarmac beneath him began to shudder in time with human footsteps, causing dust and ash to bounce up from the road's surface.

Axel rolled over again, trying to see what was causing the disturbance. He did not have to look far. A small army of Atlas Titans advanced towards him, marching as soldiers would in rank and file. There must have been two dozen in total, all moving towards what remained of the Militia forces. They did not slow as they neared him, and Axel braced himself, expecting to be crushed any second. Though suddenly he heard a familiar voice.

"Halt! Got a live one here."

The gruff South-African accent was unmistakeable. Axel cursed to himself, he almost wished he had just been crushed. He heard the footsteps of a man grow closer.

"What's this? Looks like one of us, but his tags say otherwise." The voice chuckled, though Axel did not see what might have been considered humorous. Before he knew it, Commander Blisk was leaning over him, staring at him with his electric blue eyes and menacing, sarcastic smirk. He grunted to himself before standing back and calling off into the distance. "Get me a Goblin, this one's coming home with us."

It was not long until Axel was being picked up and hurled onto a medic's bed. The pain was unbearable, the movements sudden and uncaring, though Axel made certain not to give Blisk the satisfaction of audible pain. The bed was swiftly attached to a harness, let down by a Goblin hovering overhead, and within seconds he was being airlifted back into the clutches of the IMC. The screams, gunshots and explosions from the ending battle below grew more and more distant, so distant in fact that they soon became echoes, and despite his efforts not to, Axel could not help but allow himself to pass out.


	5. Chapter 5: Through Democracy

**Chapter Five: Through Democracy**

The sick bay aboard the IMS Colossus was bustling with frantic medics, groaning casualties and clanking MRVN Automated Assistants modified with surgical tools, enabling them to partake in the numerous operations being carried out throughout the claustrophobic space.

Axel awoke to find himself in the very centre of the chaos, uncomfortably strapped down against some sort of metallic operating table. His pilot gear had been stripped from him, replaced with a white-and-blue-checked patient's gown, and a cold draught nipped at his exposed skin. Though he had no idea exactly how long he had been out, it must have been long enough, as his wounds had been stitched and patched and the throbbing pain that had beaten inside his head after the explosion had almost fully disappeared.

Turning his head as far as the leathery strap pressing down across his forehead would allow, Axel examined the room. The sick bay was circular in fashion, with a large thick pillar in the centre, right next to where he was lay. Medical beds and operating tables jutted out from the outer wall, like points on some great analogue clock, encircling Axel and the other patients that had been positioned nearer to the central pillar.

The walls themselves were beeping, blinking, buzzing, lined with technology. Inbuilt computers, monitoring stations, digital filing cabinets, each bed had their own set, providing the medics and doctors access to all the information they could ask for whilst seeing to each patient. Various trolleys and wheeled stands holding additional surgical equipment were strewn about the scene. Though normally neatly managed, the sick bay often became a place of organised chaos during and after a battle.

The battle. Axel wondered how the Militia had faired against the might of the IMC forces. The Titans he had seen marching towards him before his being taken away surely would have overwhelmed the small rebel group that awaited them. Although, judging by the patients lying in the adjacent beds, who bore either ugly gunshot wounds or severed limbs, the Militia forces had certainly given them a fight.

Stationed next to Axel were two grunts, one standing either side of him. Amongst the many bodies that moved about sick bay, he had initially paid them little attention. Though the couple had not moved from his side since he had awoke, and were in fact watching him, clearly having been given orders to keep an eye on him. One had started talking into his helmet's intercom, his low mumbling voice lost amongst the noise of the busy atmosphere. Moments later, almost inevitably, Commander Blisk entered the room.

"Officer on deck!" A grunt, who was manning the entrance to the sick bay, shouted above the racket, snapping to attention and saluting Blisk as he walked by. Several other nearby grunts and medical personnel, at least those that were not engaged in some sort of surgery, turned and saluted also.

"As you were," Blisk nodded, giving a quick salute of his own to no one in particular and moving straight towards Axel. "Nice of you to finally join us."

Axel said nothing. Even if he had not been bound down by straps, Blisk's trademark sarcasm was enough to inform him that he was in trouble. The fair-haired South African gave a dark nod towards the two grunts standing either side of Axel and before he knew it he was being wheeled away like some meat on a platter. To his credit, at least, even as commander, Blisk preferred not to have others carrying out his dirty work. With him, it was always up close and personal.

The grunts followed Blisk, pushing Axel out of the sick bay and into a long corridor. Axel winced and closed his eyes as the panels of light that lit the space from above passed overhead, one after another, until eventually they turned off into a small room, little bigger than a closet space. Evident from its bare shelves and inconsistent patterns of dust, it had recently been cleared out to provide room for the sinister soiree Blisk had planned.

"Leave us," Blisk ordered, and the two grunts nodded in unison, quickly standing to attention and saluting once again before leaving Axel alone with the commander. The man stood beside him and looked down with cold eyes. Although he was smiling, there was a darkness beneath his expression, and Axel was reminded of the stories he had heard of Blisk's days as a mercenary, before he had joined the IMC. "You and me need to have a little chat."

"Yes, sir," Axel said, anxious not to anger the commander. There was a single, lone light fitted to the small room's roof and, as Blisk leaned in towards Axel, it cast shadows across his eye sockets, making the man appear impossibly more menacing than he already was. Axel suspected that the room had likely been chosen to maximise the intimidation factor, not that that was really necessary with a man of Blisk's reputation.

"I had some engineers retrieve the black box from the Titans we lost on Delta XI. You won't believe what we found," Blisk paused, as if for dramatic emphasis. Not that it was necessary, the air was already so heavy with tension that even a knife would have struggled to cut through it. "One of the Titan's optics revealed something rather enlightening. A squad of Militia pilots, being aided by a pilot in an IMC uniform, much like the one I found you in."

"Yes, sir," Axel hesitated, going to continue, though Blisk cut him off.

"So you fight for the rebels now?"

"No, sir."

"And yet you fought with them?"

"Yes, sir," Again Axel was not given time to explain.

"Yes, sir, no, sir, three bags fucking full, sir!" Blisk snapped, throwing his fist down, inches from Axel's head, denting the surface of the metallic table beside him. "I want some answers, pilot. And you'd better tell me the truth. They might've spent two days fixing you up, but it'll only take me a minute to break you again."

Axel swallowed. There had been a time when he might not have been so afraid of an interrogation, back in his early days as a pilot, not long after his relentless training, training that had hardened him, dampened his emotions. Though now, after his experiences in the jungle, his soldiering spirit and battle-hardened toughness had slowly been chipped away, leaving him with cracks, cracks through which his emotions could now seep.

So, once again, Axel explained his story, from landing at the resource base on Leviathan to fighting with the Militia on Delta XI. Admittedly, he left certain details out, such as having dinner with the Militia admiral, which would likely only serve to convince Blisk that Axel had indeed defected from the IMC.

The truth was, Axel no longer knew where his allegiances lay. He had fought for so long with the IMC, he still felt a duty to serve them, but he could not help but recall the words of Sarah. She had made several valid points, and despite himself, Axel sympathised with their cause.

The commander had listened with interest and, to Axel's surprise, had for the most part remained quiet. Although, he had of course made it clear how hard he found it to believe that an army of wildlife had attacked the resource base and that a mysterious structure lay beneath the jungle, guarded by some enormous creature.

"I heard nothing in the reports," Blisk muttered. "We were told a flyer flock had wiped out a group of civilians, nothing more. Small news, you understand, when we're at war."

"Who filed the reports?" Axel asked, suddenly curious. "No one else that arrived at the site survived."

"I shall consult Vice Admiral Spyglass, he oversaw the operation," Blisk paused, thinking for a moment. "And what of this structure you discovered? You say a covert team was sent there?"

"Yes, sir. I'm afraid I know little more about it."

"Forgive me if I have a hard time swallowing this," Blisk sneered. "I'll give you the benefit of the doubt for now, but once I've done some digging and spoken with the vice admiral, if it turns out you're lying about anything, I'll have your head."

Blisk drew his combat knife as he spoke, pointing it accusingly at Axel and holding it there, as if savouring the idea of hacking off the pilot's head. For a brief moment, Axel thought the ex-mercenary had changed his mind and was about to kill him anyway, as he drew the knife back and adjusted his grip on the handle, seeming as though he were preparing to strike. Fortunately, instead of striking the sweating pilot, Blisk slashed across the straps at Axel's feet, releasing him. The razor-sharp combat knife sliced through each strap effortlessly, and within seconds Axel was free and Blisk was letting himself out, leaving him alone.

The relief from the pressure of the bindings was glorious. With his chest no longer crushed by straps, he could finally breathe in a full breath of air. He sat up slowly, his limbs aching, his wrists and ankles red and raw from having been chafed by the rough leather. Sore, though grateful for his freedom, he swung his legs from the table and felt the coolness of the steel floor beneath him.

The moment his feet touched the ground, the two grunts that had escorted him into the bare storage space entered once again. Grabbing him by the shoulders, Axel was suddenly hit by the reality that he was indeed not a free man yet. He should not have been surprised, he had after all, been caught fighting alongside the Militia. In fact, all in all, he was finding it hard to accept how well Blisk had received his story. Knowing the man's short-tempered reputation, he had expected to come out with at least a few broken fingers before being dismissed.

As Axel was escorted to a holding cell, he longed for the days where had been able to move freely about a ship, to own his very own personal quarters and to sit in a mess hall without having to put up with cold, untrusting eyes watching him as he ate. There was a time when he had been a respected, and indeed sociable, pilot.

Now, however, as the cell door hissed shut and sealed him inside yet another tiny prison, Axel realised that his surviving the Leviathan jungle had come at a price. He was no longer a pilot, he was a refugee. He chose no sides, had no allies, and could count on only himself for survival.

He had been given a fresh pair of inmate's overalls, which he quickly dressed himself with, finally providing him with a little protection from the ship's icy cold temperatures. Voyaging through deep space for such extended periods of time meant the crew wasted little power on heating the vessel. Every last morsel of energy was saved for the necessities.

Axel had actually been aboard the IMS Colossus once before. It was one of the most impressive flagships of the IMC fleet, and Axel had been stationed on it just in time to witness the nuclear destruction that marked the end of the battle of Demeter. It had been then that Spyglass had sent the entire IMC fleet jumping into the Frontier, leaving them stranded until reinforcements were able to arrive. Axel laughed silently to himself, he had thought the wait then had been tough, though it simply did not compare to the turmoil he had faced whilst waiting for backup on Leviathan.

Still weary from battle, and with nothing else to do within his empty new confines, Axel chose to get some rest whilst he had the chance. Unsure how long he slept for, he was eventually awoken by the cell door mechanisms creaking to life, sliding open with a drawn out screeching as the door scraped against the floor. A grunt stood in the doorway, a bundle of formal clothing folded in his arms, wrapped in an air compressed bag. The grunt threw down the clothes beside the awakening Axel and clapped his hands impatiently.

"C'mon, put these on. There's to be a council meeting in ten minutes."

"Council meeting?" Axel looked at the grunt questioningly as he began to simultaneously remove his overalls and unpack the formal clothing. It was decorated tastefully, consisting of silky black and white fabrics and gleaming silver buttons and cufflinks.

"You're to be a witness. Seems whatever you've seen has stirred up some excitement. They want to discuss options," The grunt explained and Axel's confused look only continued to grow. "I know, it's bullshit. A council meeting out in the Frontier systems. Democracy has no place here, but the stuffed shirts will do anything to try and feel relevant. When will they understand? Out here, we're more military than corporation."

Axel ignored the grunt as he continued his disgruntled ramblings, whining about politics that Axel never had, and never would, care for. He had joined the IMC to escape all that, to become a part of something more primal than political. Granted, the jungle had provided more primal nature than he had bargained for, but his disinterest in politics had not changed. He finished buttoning up his suit jacket then slipped on and tied a pair of gleaming black shoes before the grunt led him out of the cell and towards the council hall.

The room was excessive in every sense of the word, and far more glamorous than the conniving council members deserved. Next to the mess hall and the hangar bays, it was quite possibly the largest area of the IMS Colossus, the huge ceremonial hall boasting a height of almost two Titans and being able to accommodate every member of personnel aboard the vessel if need be.

If the Interstellar Manufacturing Corporation had been a country, then the council hall could not have been made to look any more patriotic. Enormous flags and banners bore the IMC's logo on their silky-smooth fabrics, an upside equilateral triangle with a bullet-shaped rocket flying through it vertically, two symmetrical streamlines running beneath it. Their fine materials shimmered and glistened, basking in the glow of the light-spheres, head-sized balls of white light that floated in the air, operated by a miniature drone built within its core. They danced gently about the room, just below the ceiling, which had been painted and carved to replicate the blueprints of the first-ever-built Hammond Robotics facility.

The structuring of the room and its seating reminded Axel of something he remembered seeing in books of Ancient Earth history. Reminiscent of a Roman colosseum or Shakespearean theatre, the hall had several tiers of elevated seating, which encircled about three quarters of the room's perimeter, the final quarter being left open, serving as the entrance through which the council members could enter, a luxurious blue carpet and accompanying honour guard awaiting their arrival.

In the centre of the hall, looked down upon by the elevated audience that was starting to gather together and find their seats, were ten individual podiums, also positioned in a circle facing inwards towards one another. The council members and other honoured speakers would stand at the podiums and address one another, the ship's admiral and chief councilman being reserved the two finest stands, furnished with busts of Doctor Hammond, the founder of the corporation.

The IMC had certainly come a long way, Axel mused, and he had to agree with some of what the grunt had said. Once it had been a humble, Earth-based engineering company. Now it was practically a culture, with personnel joining it from multiple human colonies, many no longer concerned with the corporation's entrepreneurial endeavours and instead more focused towards its militarised fighting force. That was essentially what the IMC had become, an interstellar military, reinforced by its technological history and now so large that, as evidenced by the council hall, had now had to form its own small government to help run its ever-expanding business.

Grunts, pilots and engineers alike took their seats around the hall as the five council members finally entered, led by the chief councilman, who was accompanied by the admiral, Vice Admiral Spyglass, Commander Blisk and another high-ranking officer Axel did not recognise. As they passed over the blue carpet, the honour guards gave a slick, united salute and watched them as they took their positions at their podiums.

Axel was surprised to find himself also being escorted to the last remaining, and inevitably, smallest podium and felt decidedly out of place amongst the other high-ranking officials. Never before had he stood in the centre of any of the council's meetings. In the past, he did not remember them ever quite being so grand, so over the top.

However, nowadays it did seem that the IMC had more of a flare for the extravagant, as if trying to validate its own importance, to show itself that even out in the systems of the Frontier it was still an organised and collective force, not only militarised but also governed under the watchful eyes of its democratic councilmen. Of course, each ship had their own small council, but vessels such as the IMS Colossus were home to some of the more influential council members, and they therefore, naturally, required a little more grandeur about them to boost their already inflated egos.

As the final few so-called audience members took their seats and quietened down, the chief councilman, like a judge at a trial, picked up a beautifully-crafted varnished-wooden hammer from his podium and slammed down twice, the echoed knocks leaving silence in their wake. With a pompous grin, the round-faced plump little man began to address his spectators.

"The council meeting is now in session," he boomed, his nasal voice resounding throughout the hall with surprising volume. "On today's agenda, discussion will take place regarding what action is to be taken in response to our witness's allegations."

Axel listened with impatience as the councilman briefly summarised his ugly tale, reliving it for a third time was just as unpleasant as the first. Fortunately, at least most of what the man said was accurate. Glancing over towards Spyglass, Axel took note that the machine was indeed the only robot in the room, aside from the carvings, paintings and busts that depicted certain creations made by Hammond Robotics. Built on a modified Spectre chassis, the Vice Admiral appeared just as out of place as Axel did.

"Vice Admiral Spyglass," the chief councilman turned to address his metallic colleague. "You were overseeing the operations at resource base D-19, were you not?"

"That is correct, Chief Councilman," Spyglass said monotonously, its deep electronic voice specifically set to match the volume of the councilman's.

"And you claim you were aboard the dropship that was sent to evacuate the pilots after they called for extraction? Care to elaborate?"

"Yes, Chief Councilman. I copied my AI chip into the Spectre unit assigned to the dropship. Through this unit, I witnessed a flock of the indigenous flyer species destroy the vehicle."

"After which you cancelled the other evacuation attempts and filed the reports detailing that operations at D-19 were to cease, yes?"

"Correct, Chief Councilman," Spyglass said. A mutter of agitation and disapproval rumbled throughout the audience as they expressed their disliking towards a machine making such decisions. The chief councilman knocked with his hammer once again, demanding silence, and Spyglass then continued. "Due to the indigenous threat, there was a less-than-acceptable chance of the operation succeeding. Logic dictated that I terminate it immediately."

"Metal bastard," Axel muttered under his breath. Even though the machine was physically incapable of feeling, the coldness with which it made the statement infuriated him. So many had lost their lives that day, and they had almost all been entirely forgotten because of its so-called logic.

"Witness, do you wish to make a statement?" The chief councilman turned to Axel having heard him muttering to himself. Axel hesitated, his face flushing with embarrassment.

"Uh, no, sir. Sorry, Chief Councilman," Axel sputtered, unsure if he had even addressed the stubby man correctly.

"What about the covert team, Spyglass?" It was the admiral's turn to speak now. He had jumped in from another vessel and docked only hours ago, his aging wrinkled face heavy with tiredness. "I did not authorise their deployment."

"My apologies, Admiral," Spyglass replied. "My memory files regarding the covert team have been erased. They might have been corrupted."

Axel could not quite believe what he was hearing. He had at least thought that, finally, he would have had some answers in regards to why the covert team had joined them, why he had found them inside that mysterious structure. It seemed all too convenient that the files had corrupted, though who aboard the IMS Colossus might have had reason to delete them, Axel did not know.

"Erased?" The Admiral roared, his anger causing him to yell louder than he had expected, the noise from his outcry echoing over and over throughout the hall. He lowered his tone before continuing. "That is unacceptable, Spyglass."

"If I may," another councilman butted in, the admiral shooting him an irritated glance. "Might I focus the discussion towards the structure in which the witness claimed he found the deceased covert team?"

"Of course, councilman," the admiral grumbled, his knuckles whitening as he gripped the edges of his podium. He yearned for the days when the IMC military had been able to make its own decisions, through its own officers, not through the snot-nosed rich boys by which he now stood.

"Witness," the councilman looked towards Axel. "What was it that the covert operative said to you before, uh, passing?"

"Before warning me to leave as fast as possible," Axel began, somewhat dryly. "He informed me that the Spectre unit that had been providing them with navigation had malfunctioned, left them for dead."

"Were you aware of this malfunction, Vice Admiral?" The councilman turned to Spyglass with a raised eyebrow. "Did you have another copy of your AI chip inside the unit perhaps?"

"No," Spyglass said. Even for a robotic voice, the statement sounded unusually unnatural, almost as if the machine was uncertain of itself. From the way it spoke, Axel could have sworn that the vice admiral was actually lying, though he was not sure its programming even made it capable of lying. A brief silence hung in the air, the councilman unsure what to ask next. Surprisingly, it was Spyglass that spoke first. "If the witness speaks true, it is my reasoning that we investigate this structure."

"Are you serious?" Axel was unable to prevent the outburst, leaning forwards on his podium. He could not believe what he was hearing. "I thought you said that logic dictated that you terminate the operation?"

"My apologies," Spyglass said in a tone that Axel felt was somewhat patronising. "My decision to terminate the operation was prior to my knowledge of this structure's existence."

"You believe the structure might be of value?" The chief councilman scratched his chin, noticeably more interested in the topic at hand all of a sudden.

"Yes, Chief Councilman. From the witness's description, it is my understanding that the structure is of alien origin."

"Another intelligent race, you mean?" Another councilman joined in, an unmistakable eagerness to his voice.

"Yes, though likely an ancient one, perhaps even extinct." Spyglass elaborated. Axel could not accept what he was hearing.

"So logic now dictates you can risk even more lives chasing alien artefacts? Artefacts that, in truth, may not even exist?" Axel made no attempt to hide his disgust towards the machine and there was a low murmur of empathy from the spectators behind him.

"Need I remind you the significance of alien technology?" The chief councilman chuckled humourlessly. "The advancements made from them have made us what we are today. Just think of what we could be tomorrow! The possibilities are endless."

Axel was reminded of his conversation with Vanon. He and the councilmen seemed to share similar views on the value of alien technology. Axel was disgusted at how greedily the council was eating it all up, despite the fact that there was hardly any evidence or justification supporting Spyglass's speculations. Fortunately, Axel was not the only one protesting the idea.

"I'm not sure the benefits outweigh the risk, Chief Councilman," the admiral started, though he was swiftly interrupted by Spyglass.

"There need not be any risk, Admiral," It said. "I request that a sizeable task force of Spectre units be sent to the site of D-19."

"And since when can a machine make such requests?" It was now the other high-ranking officer, whose name Axel did not know, that suddenly spoke up for the first time, a vein throbbing in his forehead. "You have no authority to make such a decision."

"You forget your place," Blisk had now joined the debate, his sharp tone cutting through the tense atmosphere. "You are speaking to the vice admiral."

"Sadly, I am all too aware of that, Commander," the officer growled. "If it had been up to me, no machine would have been given such a status. It simply does not possess the means to make such crucial decisions."

"On the contrary," the chief councilman looked at Spyglass proudly. "Vice Admiral Spyglass uses pure logic to make decisions. It does not distract itself with emotions or personality, it simply focuses on the mission, and whether or not it will benefit the corporation. That is true leadership!"

"And what do you know of leadership?" The admiral cried out in disbelief.

Before Axel's eyes, the council hall seemed to divide itself. The admiral, the officer and a number of enthused spectators argued passionately against the councilmen and their spectating supporters, the echoing room filling with inaudible cries, angered discussion and mocking, patronising laughter. Axel sighed. It truly was democracy at its finest, a group of overinflated egos butting heads over a subject neither side had significant knowledge of.

Glancing towards Blisk, he noticed the South African was growing equally aggravated by the rabble and reached into his holster, producing a shining Hammond P2011 semi-automatic handgun. The commander held the weapon up, pointing it straight into the air, and let off a single round. The bullet struck one of the light-spheres overhead, its luminous white glow instantly fading as the miniature drone with sparked and crashed to the floor, narrowly missing the chief councilman's head. The room did fall silent however, and Blisk smiled triumphantly. The chief councilman was significantly less pleased.

"Commander Blisk! How dare you?"

"Just bringing order, Chief Councilman," Blisk smiled. "Didn't seem like your hammer was having much effect."

The chief councilman glanced down at the hammer in his hand, he had been banging it against the podium over and over to little effect, like a rattle-wielding toddler having a tantrum. Axel watched wearily as the councilmen collected themselves, their reddened faces still gleaming from all the shouting.

"It is through democracy, that our decision shall be made," The chief councilman announced, attempting to bring a degree of formality back into the meeting. "We shall take a vote. All in favour of investigating this structure, raise your hands."

Almost in unison, all five councilmen raised their hands. Given that they made up half of those attending each council meeting, they only ever required one additional vote to overrule any objectors and, as they often agreed on most matters, were therefore used to getting their way. Vice Admiral Spyglass raised a hand also, along with Blisk, who raised his last.

"It seems we have the majority," The chief councilman said, the smugness in his tone poorly hidden. "Though, in an attempt to compromise, I suggest that we send troops and pilots along with the Vice Admiral's Spectre units. At least that will ensure these wild beasts can be held off, and any further malfunctions can be dealt with onsite. Is that more satisfactory, Admiral?"

The admiral grunted, clearly still unsatisfied, though there was little he could do about it now. Axel knew just how he felt, if not worse. As the chief councilman brought a close to the session, he could not believe what was happening. Both the Militia and the IMC now desired whatever lay within the structure. He wished he had simply kept his mouth shut about the damned thing. Whether there was alien technology to be found or not, one thing was certain. Lives of good men and women, fighting for both factions, would be lost. Countless lives, and Axel could not help but feel responsible for them.


End file.
